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A MAN LIVES, 


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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap.IEZ^ Copyright No.. ! 

Sho lf ■ F ± I ~1 s A 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
















AS A MAN LIVES. 





Copyright, 1898, 

BY 

Thu Editor Publishing Co. 


( JUI 




2nti OOF', 
1896 . 


•a3Ai303y saidoooAU 




5 



AS A MAN LIVES. 





MARY C. FERRIS. 

it 




CINCINNATI. OHIO: 

THE EDITOR PUBLISHING CO. 
1898. 







As a Man Lives. 

CHAPTER I. 

“Yon are the one to blame, Stella; 
to say such unkind things of Janet. 
She is not rich like you, and her one 
dollar is more to her than your ten 
are to you. ,, 

“Well, I despise poverty, and 
everything connected with it, and I 
was going to add, good people also, 
but I will make an exception in your 
case, Belle, for I sometimes think I 
almost love you, although you are 
forever pulling me up, and making 
me think meanly of myself.” 

“Does anyone ever do that ? ” said 
Gladys. “I thought you were 
supreme in your own estimation, and 
superior to all of us in every way. 
But don’t let us quarrel. What are 
you going to give Miss Wise for her 
birthday? We have collected fifty 
1 


2 


As a Man Lives. 


dollars, and have not been half 
through the school yet, nor asked any 
of the younger children for contribu- 
tions.” 

“ Get a silver-mounted travelling 
bag,” said Stella, “it would only 
cost a hundred dollars, and if the 
youngsters come forward handsomely, 
we shall get that much.” 

Just then the door opened and 
Janet came into the room. 

“Oh, girls!” she said. “I have 
an idea if you are all willing. I was 
passing by Reggie’s door a moment 
ago, and heard the doctor say as he 
was leaving, ‘The child must go to 
the sea before the hot weather comes, 
or I will not answer for the conse- 
quences.’ Now I was thinking that 
as we have not decided on a present 
for Miss Wise, it would be nice to 
make up a purse, enough to defray 
the expenses of Reggie’s trip. What 
do you all say to that ? Miss Wise 
has so many to care for ; there is her 
invalid mother, and her aged father, 
besides Reggie and the home she has 
started for poor girls. I feel sure 


As a 31 an Lives. 


3 


that she will only sacrifice herself, 
instead of taking the rest she needs, 
if she has to pay Reggie’s expenses 
at the sea-shore.” 

“Well, I for one, do not agree to 
it;” said Stella. “The child is 
nothing to us, and I will not give 
this money for sick children.” 

“Shame!” cried all the girls. 
“Then you can take your money 
back, for Reggie’s trip will not cost 
nearly so much as the travelling bag, 
and we can do very well without your 
contribution.” 

So it was decided that the child 
should go to the sea, and Stella’s 
money was returned to her, for all the 
girls declared they would not have it. 

These four girls were the eldest 
pupils in the school, and when vaca- 
tion came they would leave “Rich- 
mond House ” and Miss Wise, never 
to return as students. 

Stella Ramona was a Spanish girl, 
rich, haughty, domineering, and not 
at all a favorite in the school. 

Belle was a tiny creature, the 
daughter of a clergyman, not pretty, 


4 


As a Man Lives. 


but with a sweet face and gentle win- 
ning ways, which made all the girls 
regard her affectionately. 

Gladys was the daughter of a rich 
merchant. She had a happy nature, 
that would be a sunbeam in any home, 
rich or poor. The girls said that her 
very hair was sun-kissed; (it was 
golden brown in fact.) She had 
laughing grey eyes, and her figure 
was prettily rounded. 

Janet was an orphan, and had been 
placed in the school by a gentleman 
who called himself her uncle. She 
was a stately girl, very dignified and 
graceful, but with a face too sad to 
be called beautiful, although the 
features were clear cut, and the cast 
patrician. 

The girls were gathered in Stella’s 
room. Wide windows looked out 
upon the lovely California landscape, 
a long stretch of rain-washed meadows, 
delicately green, low hills veiled in 
brilliant evening haze, and sunset- 
glowing skies. Janet sat looking out 
with silent appreciation, upon the 
familiar beauty of the scene. Inside 


As a Man Lives. 


5 


all was equally brilliant, for Stella 
loved bright colors. She was reclin- 
ing now on a couch half buried in 
silken cushions of every hue. Belle 
was nestled in a big armchair, her 
white dress thrown into strong relief 
by the black fur rug which covered 
her seat. Gladys was swinging 
energetically in the hammock which 
was stretched across the alcove. 

Miss Wise had furnished the rooms 
neatly, but plainly, and the girls had 
finished the decorating according to 
their own tastes. Stella’s room was 
like the boudoir of an oriental beauty ; 
Gladys’ chamber plainer, colder, but 
equally well furnished; Belle’s little 
room had been turned into a white 
bower, with inexpensive curtains and 
rugs, while Janet’s room remained as 
she found it — neat but bare. 

“Richmond House” was a high- 
class boarding school for girls, just 
outside the pretty town of Milford, 
and within a few hours’ ride of San 
Francisco* 

Reggie, the subject of the dispute 
among the girls, was Miss Wise’s 


6 


As a Man Lives. 


nephew, a little crippled boy, whose 
mother and father were dead. He 
had been ill for some time with slow 
fever and attendant weakness and 
the doctor had ordered him to the 
seaside. Through the kindness and 
generosity of the girls, he was able to 
go with his aunt, for when they heard 
Janet’s story they all doubled their 
contributions. 

The little fellow was delighted. 
He had never seen the sea, and had no 
idea what it was like, except from 
the pictures he had seen and stories 
the girls had read to him. He imag- 
ined that it was going to make him 
strong and well, and that soon he 
would be able to do everything like 
other boys. 

After the commencement exercises 
the girls separated for their homes, 
and Reggie went to the sea, where 
he lay all day upon the warm sand, 
watching the waves break over the 
children’s naked feet, and dreaming 
of the time when he too could run 
and play with the rest. And health 
and strength crept slowly into his 
veins with the California sunshine. 


CHAPTER II. 


Fifteen years before our story 
opens a gentleman and a lady were 
walking the deck of an ocean steam- 
er, waiting with eager anticipation 
for the ship to reach the wharf at 
New York. She was delayed for a 
few hours, because the vessel ahead 
of her had been quarantined on 
account of a supposed case of small- 
pox on board. 

The gentleman, Jack Stanton by 
name, was irritable and impetuous, and 
evidently greatly troubled in mind ; 
lately his wife had watched him 
closely to prevent him doing some- 
thing desperate. Had it not been 
for a promise to her, she would many 
times during the voyage have feared 
that he would throw himself over- 
board. Now he could control him- 
self no longer. 

“Why the devil are we kept here?” 
he cried. “The captain might have 
found this out from the custom 


7 


8 


As a Man Lives. 


house officers, and got us in ahead 
other. It’s just my cursed luck!” 

“Jack, dear, an hour or two can 
make no difference, now that an 
ocean separates you from your credi- 
tors,” said his wife softly. 

“ Hang it, Agnes, I shall not feel 
safe until we are in California. They 
will never look for me there. Then, 
in a new land,” changing his tone, 
“ with my little wife and baby, I shall 
begin a new life. They tell me 
money is made so fast out there that 
I shall not only be able to satisfy 
every creditor, but clear my name 
and go back to England and take my 
place in that rank and position to 
which I was born,” 

“Jack, dear, if you would only 
promise me that in starting on this 
new life, you would try to get money 
honestly, and not by gambling, I 
should be so happy ; and perhaps in 
California I can earn something. I 
have been well educated you know, 
and in a new country they must need 
teachers, and — ” 

“Once for all, Agnes, I shall get 


As a Man Lives. 


9 


money as I can, for get it I must ; 
but I will not have my wife grinding 
at the mill, for that has never been 
the way of the Stantons or Hamil- 
tons, and it shall not be mine. No, 
little wife, you must let me be the 
bread-winner, and in my own way. 
But come ! the passengers are begin- 
ning to land and w T e have no time to 
lose. ,, 

Jack Stanton gathered together 
their small possessions, Agnes car- 
ried the baby and they were soon 
lost in the crowd. 

Presently there was a commotion 
among the passengers who were hav- 
ing their baggage examined. In one 
of Jack's trunks, safely hidden, he 
supposed, were a number of small 
pieces of jewelry, watches included, 
which the custom house officers 
immediately seized, marching Jack 
off to pay duty on them, although he 
stormed and declared that he would 
not, neither would he give them up. 
He was finally compelled to leave 
the trinkets, however, when he be- 
came aware of the fact that he would 


10 


As a Man Lives. 


not have money enough to buy tick- 
ets to California, if he paid the duty 
demanded. 

“My cursed luck again,” he said. 
“Is this going to follow me right 
along, I wonder?” 

“Do you think they will trace us 
by those things?” asked Agnes 
anxiously. “For I fear, Jack, that 
you did not get them honestly.” 

“I have taken precautions against 
that, you may be sure, and if anyone 
asks you where you are going, say 
Colorado still, as you did on the boat. 
All our luggage will be checked 
there.” 

After many hindrances they arrived 
in California in nine days from the 
time they left New York. Jackmade 
the acquaintance of a Californian, 
Tom Henshaw, on the train. Tom 
had a mine in Chico, also a store, and 
he offered Jack a house, rent free, and 
a position in the store, until he could 
look around and find something bet- 
ter to do. 

The store was just such a place as 
one sees in any mining camp ; a large 


As a Man Lives. 


11 


wooden shanty divided into two 
rooms. In the front room was the 
store. One side of it was devoted 
to men’s dry goods, while the other 
side held groceries, liquors and 
tobacco. The hack room was used 
for a concert hall at night, and for 
a court room, and place of general 
assembly in the daytime. Jack soon 
turned this hall into a gambling den, 
and many were the fights which took 
place in there, fights in earnest in 
which Jack seldom came off victor- 
ious. Tom remonstrated, but he had 
g^own very fond of Jack, and was 
generally found taking his part in a 
brawl, even when he knew that the 
other man was right. 

Agnes pleaded with him to give up 
this life for the sake of their child, 
but she pleaded in vainj She dread- 
ed to think that some day her little 
Janet might be the daughter of a 
murderer, for shots were frequently 
exchanged in this gambling hell. 
She had never been a strong woman, 
and the constant worry and anxiety 
about her husband, together with the 


12 


Asa Man Lives . 


hard life to which she was not accus- 
tomed, soon proved too much for her. 
It was only two years after Jack 
Stanton brought his wife to the little 
mining town, that he buried her in 
the small but populous graveyard, 
where most of the dead had been 
suddenly stopped in their picturesque 
careers by various kinds of gun and 
pistol balls. 

For a time after his wife’s death, 
Jack did try to do better. He drank 
less of the “pizen” sold in the store, 
and he gambled less in the room 
behind. He had been drinking heav- 
ily, and was but the wreck of his 
former self. He still ran the faro 
bank, for, he said, “Janet and I 
must live, and I’m not fit to work 
now.” Besides, there was little 
honest work for any but miners in 
the town. The one short street held 
several stores like Henshaw’s, and 
many saloons, bearing such legends 
as, “Miners’ Delight,” the “ Bull- 
pup ” and “ Harrigan’s Hall.” The 
principal trade of the place was in 
“pizen” whiskey, appropriately 


As a Man Lives. 


13 


named, and the only amusements 
were card playing and dancing. When 
particularly festive, the “boys” were 
in the habit of riding furiously down 
the little street, shooting to right and 
left, and yelling like painted Indians. 
Then they would combine their for- 
ces, raid the saloons, holding up the 
barkeeper and faro-dealers, while 
they helped themselves liberally to 
money and drink. The invariable 
rule was to finish these scenes by 
shooting out the lights, often leaving 
a rifled saloon and sometimes a dead 
proprietor behind them, while they 
passed on in search of more fun. 

Mrs. Stanton and Mrs. Henshaw 
had been almost the only respec- 
table women in the place. Now Mrs. 
Henshaw was left again without any 
woman’s companionship. 

Little Janet was four years old 
when her mother died. Every man 
in camp was devoted to her, and kind 
Tom Henshaw promptly offered to 
take the little girl home to his wife. 

Mrs. Henshaw was not quite so 
willing, although there was plenty of 


14 


As a Man Lives. 


room in the superintendent’s house, 
and plenty of food. But she did not 
like Jack, and was jealous because 
Janet was prettier and brighter than 
her own children. 

At last, however, Tom had his way, 
and little Janet was installed as a 
member of the Henshaw family. 

For a time things went on smoothly. 
Jack, during his spare moments, gave 
the children lessons, and two of the 
Henshaw boys became quite well 
grounded in Algebra and other studies. 

Stanton had plenty of friends 
among the miners, and many a stormy 
hour they passed, listening to his 
tales of English life, for he always 
spoke of a life they knew nothing 
about, although there w T ere many 
Englishmen among them. 

“Say Jack,” they would say, 
“how d’you know so much about 
sech big bugs ? ” or “ Say, ole feller, 
did you ever know this yer lord Ever- 
sham that hed th’ speedy hosse& ? I 
say, boys, he’s a-rusticatin’ in our 
humble sassiety incog, and he’s shore 
a juke or a lord himself.” 


As a Man Lives. 


15 


Then Jack would stop his “yarn- 
ing,” and explain hastily, “No, no, 
I’m only a gambler like some of you, 
and have never been anything else. 
Fact is, boys, I’m not half as good 
as those of you who earn an honest 
living.” 

He would never allow the Henshaw 
boys to come into the gambling den, 
and often said to Tom, 

‘ ‘ I am glad that my only child is a 
girl. A boy might have inherited 
some of my characteristics, but 
Janet will be like her mother.” 

The little girl was very fond of her 
father, and spent as much of her 
time with him as was possible. She 
was a pale, quiet little creature, very 
quaint and old-fashioned in her man- 
ners, and the little Henshaws were 
too rough and rude for her. Stanton 
liked to have her with him, and it 
was owing to her company partly 
that he kept sober. His little one was 
always welcome, except when he was 
gambling. She had stolen in once or 
twice, a timid little figure in gingham 
apron and sunbonnet, during the 


16 


As a Man Lives. 


morning hours after an all-night 
game. But the savage faces, the 
ready pistols, the lights still burning, 
because no one would stir to put them 
out, all these things frightened her, 
and most of all her father's stern 
reproof, or worse still, the fearful 
look he wore when he was too much 
absorbed even to notice her. 

That look was never quite effaced 
from her memory; in after years it 
was vividly recalled to her. 

One stormy night in December a 
large number of men had gathered in 
the hall, some playing, w T hile the rest 
looked on. Jack was winning stead- 
ily, and drinking far too much, as he 
repeatedly treated the crowd from his 
winnings. 

The rain beat against the windows, 
and the wind blew at such a terrific 
rate that it seemed every moment as 
if the building must go over. Still 
Jack won. Tom, seeing how excited 
he was getting, crept up to his side, 
and whispered, 

“That’s enough for to-night. 
Leave it, and come home.” 

Jack paid no attention. 


As a Man Lives. 


17 


‘ ‘ More drinks ! ” he called . ‘ ‘ And 
this time let us drink to the storm.” 

He gave no heed to Tom, who 
pleaded in his ear, “For Janet’s 
sake, come ! ” 

Some of the players, seeing his 
extraordinary luck, and feeling angry 
at their own continued loss, hinted 
that it could not be square. This 
made Jack furious. 

“ Curse you, take that back!” he 
shouted. 

“We all saw Tom give him a tip,” 
cried a looker-on. 

“Yes,” cried others, “we all did.” 
Quick as a flash Jack sprang to his feet, 
and putting his hand behind him, 
cried, “Who accuses me of cheat- 
ing ? ” 

“I do,” said the man who had first 
insinuated. 

Instantly two shots rang out, and 
both men fell. In the pause that 
followed, the howling of the storm 
was a fearful sound and the building 
rocked. Large trees were blown 
over, and the crash of their falling 
shook the ground like an earthquake. 


18 


As a Man Lives. 


The two men were hastily exam- 
ined. Jack’s accuser was dead, but 
Jack still breathed. They carried 
him to Henshaw’s house and sum- 
moned the doctor, who found that he 
was fatally wounded, and could live 
only a short time. 

All night Tom sat by his dying 
friend; he feared that Jack would 
never recover consciousness, but with 
the first flush of dawn he opened his 
eyes, and recognizing his friend, said : 

“Thank God, I did not die last 
night. I have only a few hours to 
live, Tom, and I have something to 
say. The money that I have made 
by gambling, will pay for Janet’s 
education. I wish it had been made 
in some honest way, but surely a 
merciful God will not visit my sins 
on her innocent head! I want her 
to be brought up as a lady, for some 
day, if she is restored to her own 
she will occupy a high position in 
England. Ah! I had hoped to see 
that day to restore her to the place 
and position that I through my sin 
have defrauded her of. It would 


As a Man Lives. 


19 


have made me happy — but what right 
had I to expect happiness ? I threw 
away all chances of it when I first 
started in life. Three times my poor 
old father paid my debts — heavy ones 
— and he would have done so the 
fourth time, but I had some con- 
science left, and skipped for this 
country, intending to make money 
enough to let me return and pay my 
creditors. I can’t do it now, but 
there is a little left for Janet ! and, 
Tom, I "wish you would have a small 
marble grave stone placed to the 
memory of my poor wife, with her 
name and age. These you will find 
in a small case in my trunk, if you 
will get it forme. — That’s it. Thank 
you. Please bury me near my wife, 
but don’t put my name on the stone 
or make any mention of me. I was 
not worthy to be known in life, and 
am not worthy to be remembered 
after death. Janet will know that I 
lie beside her mother. 

“Oh ! for a few more years of life ! 

I would turn over a new leaf. I 
would do my duty by Janet. I have 


20 


As a Man Lives. 


promised before, Tom, but this time 
I surely would fulfill.” 

Tom saw that he was getting weak- 
er. He pressed the dying man’s 
hand tenderly, striving to comfort 
him, begging him to finish his instruc- 
tions quickly, and rest. 

“Give this package to Janet when 
she is eighteen,” said Jack, taking 
it from the case he had asked for. 
“And now, let me see my little girl 
before it is too late.” 

Tom went for Janet. He found 
her just outside the door, poor child, 
sobbing as though her heart would 
break. She had heard a commotion 
in the house, and partly surmised the 
cause. Kind-hearted Tom took the 
little girl in his arms, talked to her 
soothingly, warned her not to excite 
her father, and finally carried her to 
the bedside of the dying gambler, 
who, with all his sins, had yet been a 
tender husband and a kind father. 


CHAPTER III. 


Janet was twelve years old when 
her father died, and at the time when 
our story opens she was seventeen. 

Mrs. Henshaw declared she should 
not stay any longer at school, or all 
her money w T ould be used up and 
nothing left to pay for her board. 
“And the girl with her citified airs 
can not stay here for nothing,” she 
declared. 

Tom had had his way up to the 
present time about her schooling, 
but he had been compelled to leave 
her clothing to Mrs. Henshaw, who 
had spent the money on her own chil- 
dren, sending Janet cast-off things 
from the wardrobe of her own girls. 

Janet did not know that her father 
had left her anything. She thought 
it was through Mrs. Henshaw’ s kind- 
ness that she had escaped the orphan 
asylum. 

Mr. Henshaw did not know how 
badly Janet was treated. He knew 
81 


22 


As a Man Lives. 


that she did not get on very comfor- 
tably in his family, and therefore he 
had kept her at school for five years 
continuously, even during the vaca- 
tion times. Now there was no help 
for it, she must come back to the only 
home she had ever known, and he 
determined to keep a sharp lookout 
and see that she was not ill-treated. 

It was again December when the 
stage containing Mr. Henshaw and 
Janet arrived in Chico. They were 
put down at Tom’s residence, and 
greeted cheerfully by the family. 

Janet was taken to a room in the top 
of the house, very cold just then, hut 
very warm in summer. Having 
removed her hat and brushed her 
hair, she went down to the dining 
room. The family had already taken 
supper, so she sat down alone with Mr. 
Henshaw. 

“Now my girl,” said he, “you 
must try to make yourself happy 
here. I dare say the life won’t be 
exactly to your taste, but try to make 
the best of things, and then I think 
they won’t seem very bad, and remem- 


As a Man Lives. 


23 


ber I am always your friend when 
you want one.” 

“Oh uncle,” said Janet, “how 
shall I ever repay you for your good- 
ness to me ! I should indeed be 
ungrateful if I made myself unhap- 
py-” 

“That’s right, dear; just make up 
your mind not to be discontented, 
and you won’t be.” 

“No, uncle, I am going to try to 
be useful, if you and aunt will be 
patient with me. I know I shall be 
stupid at first. I think I could take 
care of your books, and teach the 
children — ” 

“Indeed you cannot,” said Miss 
Henshaw. “I am father’s book- 
keeper, and Annie teaches the chil- 
dren. You can help mother with 
the housework.” 

Janet replied cheerfully, but the 
prospect was not encouraging. 

Supper over, Annie said in a patron- 
izing way, “I will carry the things 
away to-night, for perhaps you are 
tired.” 

Janet thanked her and being glad 


24 


As a Man Lives. 


of an excuse to be alone said good- 
night, and retired to her room in the 
attic. 

The next morning she was told 
what her duties would be. 

“You will do the ordinary house- 
work, Janet,” said Mrs. Henshaw, 
“ and help with the garden, and 
take care of the chickens. I’ll help 
you for the present; I’ll do the cook- 
ing until you learn how, for I don’t 
suppose you have learned that or 
much else that is useful at school, 
so far as I can see.” 

Poor Janet! She had not been 
taught housework at school, or any- 
where else, and they had not much 
patience with her. Sometimes Mrs. 
Henshaw would say she was too 
slow, too long about her work, and 
when she tried to do it more quickly 
she was told that it could not 
have been well done, for nothing 
could be well done in so short a time. 
If she made the beds first, Mrs. Hen- 
shaw was quite sure that they had 
not been aired. If she left them for 
a time, she was lazy and slovenly. 


As a Man Lives. ^5 

It seemed to the poor girl that, try t as 
she would, she could not please this 
family. She spent all of her spare 
time alone in her little room, reading, 
thinking and trying to plan for 
her future. 

Whenever she ventured to use the 
piano Mrs. Henshaw made scornful 
remarks about “girls who work for 
their own living having no time for 
such fol-de-rol,” yet her own daugh- 
ters practiced two hours a day. They 
had not had good teachers, and then- 
playing and singing was far from 
edifying. Janet herself had shown 
decided talent for music at school, and 
had a very sweet contralto voice. She 
was passionately fond of music and 
the situation was trying in the ex- 
treme. 

The three girls were often invited 
to entertainments given by the mi- 
ners ; these frequently took the form 
of dances, where there were, at the 
most, ten or twelve women and girls, 
and often more than a hundred men. 

Janet attended one of these, wish- 
ing to make herself agreeable, but 


86 


As a Man Lives. 


she was so disturbed by the rough- 
ness and familiarity of the men that 
she never repeated the experience. 

Mrs. Henshaw was secretly pleased 
at this decision, for she well knew 
that Janet was more attractive than 
either of her own girls, and had 
observed the attention she received. 


CHAPTER IV. 


One beautiful day in spring, when 
the hills were golden with poppies 
and the birds were singing in merry 
chorus, Janet felt lightsome of heart 
in spite of her troubles, and having 
finished her morning's work she 
asked Mrs. Henshaw’s permission to 
go out for a little walk. 

“And who’s asked you to go 
a- walking ? ’ ’ asked the woman, her 
jealousy manifested immediately. 

“No one, Aunt.” 

“Come now, don’t you tell me no 
lies. You’re likely agoin’ to meet 
some man, and you should tell me 
about it.” 

“Indeed,” said Janet angrily, “I 
do not even know any man well 
enough to walk with him. Why do 
you always mistrust me? And why do 
you treat me as if I were ill-bred and 
given to deceiving you? I do all I 
can to please you, but I can never 
succeed. I suppose you have a right 

27 


28 


As a Man Lives. 


to demand my services as you give 
me my board, but you have no right 
to behave so cruelly to me. If you 
dislike me so,” Janet was sobbing by 
this time, “why don’t you let me go 
away ? In San Francisco I could get my 
own living teaching music, or in some 
other way, and it would be much 
more congenial to my taste than being 
your servant, for that is what I am.” 

It was a bold speech and Mrs. Hen- 
shaw was purple with wrath. 

“You ungrateful little hussy! 
Talking to me that way! I’ll teach 
you ! Go to San Francisco indeed ! 
In less than a month you would be 
on the streets; it’s just your kind that 
get there. Putting on such grand 
airs, and making yourself out so 
much better than the rest of us ! 
And what are you, I should like to 
know? A gambler’s daughter, yes, 
a murderer’s daughter!” 

“You shall not speak against my 
poor father in that wicked way, now 
he is gone ! ” cried Janet. “What- 
ever he was he was a good father to 
me. I only wish he was alive now, for I 


As a Man Lives . 


29 


have not a friend in the whole world.” 
The girl looked heart-broken and her 
voice had a pitiful sound. 

Mrs. Henshaw was moved, in spite 
of her anger, by this cry of the 
orphan. 

“Well,” she said, softening her 
tone and manner, “you need not tell 
your uncle that we have quarrelled, 
and if you will promise to be in by 
five o’clock, you may go for your 
walk.” 

Janet longed to be alone, and know- 
ing that this was impossible in the 
house, she said sincere thanks for the 
concession and hastily put on her hat, 
and escaped from the hateful place. 

She found a pretty canon where 
the water bubbled and gurgled over 
stones, making little cascades. Rank 
graceful ferns waved their tall fronds 
lightly in the fragrant air, and the 
banks were covered with moss and 
maiden-hair. Occasionally a bevy of 
quail would come down to drink, but 
when they caught sight of the intru- 
der, would whir away among the 
trees. 


30 


As a Man Lives. 


At any other time Janet would 
have enjoyed this woodland scene, 
for she loved nature, but was now 
feeling so sad and hopeless that she 
hardly noticed anything except that 
she was alone, which was some com- 
fort. 

She sat down, and hiding her face 
in her hands burst into a violent fit 
of weeping. The more she thought 
of her lonely condition the more 
miserable she grew. Where could 
she go? What could she do? She, 
the daughter of a gambler and a mur- 
derer ! Yes, the cruel words were 
true. She knew, she remembered. 

“No one will have anything to do 
with me, ” she thought. “And per- 
haps this is why they treat me so 
badly. Are the sins of the fathers 
indeed visited upon the children?” 

She was sobbing forlornly, entirely 
absorbed in her unhappy thoughts, 
when suddenly a shot rang out. Be- 
fore she had recovered from the shock 
a young man bounded through the 
brush and jumped across the stream 
just at her feet. Her first impulse 


As a Man Lives. 


31 


was to fly ; but she could not possibly 
make her escape without passing him. 
Before she could move, he raised his 
hat and said; 

“Please pardon me, Miss Stanton. 
I thought I had the woods entirely to 
myself, and was just going after those 
quail when, in so doing I almost 
jumped over you. Did I frighten you 
very much? I am really awfully 
sorry.” 

“No,” said Janet, “ you did not 
frighten me so very much; but please 
tell me how you know my name.” 

“I owe you an apology,” he said, 
“for venturing to use your name 
without an introduction. Well, the 
best reparation I can make is to tell 
mine. It is Duncan, Malcolm Dun- 
can. I came to Chico nearly a month 
ago. I am representing a company 
in England who own this mine, and 
I have come out here in their interest, 
as well as my own. Not having 
much to do this afternoon I thought 
I would bring my gun ; and I greatly 
suspect I was violating the law against 
quail shooting. However, I did not 


32 


As a Man Lives. 


kill any, so you can not have me 
arrested.” 

He laughed, hut Janet remained 
grave. 

“Miss Stanton,” he ventured, 
“you look unhappy and you were in 
tears when I startled you. Can I 
help you in any way? ” 

“ You can answer a question for me 
if you will,” said the friendless child. 
“Are the sins of the fathers visited 
upon the children ? ” 

“No, a thousand times no! unless 
the children sin. I know to what you 
refer, Miss Stanton,” he continued 
kindly. “I know a great deal more 
about you than you do about me. 1 
have often been to - the Henshaws’ 
house, and have wondered why you 
never join them in the evenings, so I 
asked about you, and heard your 
story from some of the miners. I 
have suspected for some time that 
you were not happy, and indeed your 
looks confirm my suspicion.” 

Janet could not restrain her grief 
and was sobbing in a forlorn fashion 
that went straight to his heart. 


As a Man Lives. 


88 


“ Why do you stay with these 
people, Miss Stanton ? They are hot 
your equals in any way.” Janet 
dried her tears, and answered quietly, 
“Well, you see I scarcely have a 
choice in the matter. I have no other 
home. Uncle is very good to me, 
and would not permit them to treat 
me as they do, if he knew, but I 
could not tell him and make mischief 
between him and his wife. Besides, 
would it mend matters, do you think ? 
I fancy aunt’s disposition is such 
that she would never forgive me.” 

They sat in silence for a moment. 
Then Janet asked hastily* “Please 
tell me the time* Mr. Duncan. Aunt 
told me to be in by five.” 

“You will just make it if you start 
now*” said he, looking at his watch. 
“ May I walk to the bottom of the 
canon with you ?” 

She rose, and he helped her over 
the rocks. At the foot of the canon 
he raised his hat respectfully* said 
good-bye, and left her. Janet was 
glad that he went no farther, for at 
the bottom of the canon shfe tvas 
almost in sight of the house. 


34 


As a Man Lives. 


To her surprise her aunt met her 
and inquired if she had enjoyed her 
walk. 

Janet thanked her sincerely, glad 
of a kind word from her, and told her 
briefly of the pretty canon, and her 
enjoyment of it. 

Truth to tell, Mrs. Henshaw, like 
all bullies was a coward, and she was 
much concerned lest Janet should tell 
her uncle of their unpleasant words. 

Janet felt happier than she had for 
some time. She instinctively knew 
that she had found a friend in Mr. 
Duncan, and began to wonder how 
long he would remain in Chico and 
whether she would ever see him again. 

That same evening while she was 
washing the dishes and tidying the 
kitchen, he called. Not finding Janet 
in the parlor he said that he had 
only called to leave a book for Miss 
Stanton, and took his departure 
immediately. 

Mrs. Henshaw and her girls looked 
from one to the other, and then at 
Mr. Henshaw. 

“Well,” cried Mrs. Henshavr, 


As a Man Lives. 


35 


“what do you think of that?” 

“Think of what?” said Tom. 

“I think it is time you knew what 
sort of a girl you’ve got in your 
house, Mr. Henshaw.” 

“ What do you mean, wife? Are 
you speaking of Janet?” 

“ And who else should I he speak- 
ing of ? It was only this afternoon 
she told me she didn’t know a man 
well enough to go walking with him.” 

“Perhaps she does not. What 
reason have you to doubt her word ?” 

“Every reason in the world. She 
asked to go out walking to-day, a 
thing she has not done since she has 
been here, except to go on an errand, 
and — ’ ’ 

“Wife,” interrupted Tom, “you 
astonish me? Is the child compelled 
to ask you every time she goes outside 
the house ? I want you to understand 
that she is as free to go and come as 
our own children are. I have 
thought for some time that she was 
not being well treated here. What’s 
the reason that my girls don’t take 
their share of the house work, as they 


36 


As a Man Lives. 


did before she came? It is no kind- 
ness to them.” 

“And keep her in idleness? No, 
Tom, that girl's no good, you may 
depend, and if it hadn’t been for my 
keeping her at work she would have 
gone plumb to the bad. That’s my 
opinion.” 

Tom was getting very angry. He 
fose to his feet, and said to his 
daughter, “Call Janet,” Annie obeyed 
£ilently. Janet came in looking won- 
deringly from one to the other. 

♦‘Janet,” asked Mr. Henshaw, 
“how long have you known Mr. 
Duncan ?” 

**I don’t know him, Uncle.” 

Mrs. Henshaw cried triumphantly, 
That’s the second lie I’ve found 
her out in to-day. You can't believe 
a word she says.’’ 

b One minute please, wife. I have 
the floor.” 

Taking the book in his hand, he 
turned to Janet and said, “ This book 
was brought here to-day by Mr. 
Duncan, and left for you.” 

“It was very kind of him;” said 


As a Man Lives . 


37 


Janet simply. “I met him in the 
canon this afternoon. He startled me 
jumping through the brush after 
some birds he was shooting at.” She 
looked straight in her uncle’s face 
while she was speaking, and was so 
calm and self-possessed that for a 
moment the women were struck dumb. 
Mrs. Henshaw quickly recovered 
herself, however, and looking at her 
husband said, 

” You believe that, I suppose?” 

“ I don’t doubt it,” said he. “But 
I’ll soon prove if it’s true.” Putting 
his hat on he left the house. 

‘ ‘ You can go to your room, Janet, ” 
said Mrs. Henshaw. “ And when I 
want you, I’ll send for you.” 

“ I cannot go until this matter is 
explained,” said Janet with spirit. 
“ You have no right to order me to 
do so. I never saw Mr. Duncan in 
my life until this afternoon, and I 
shall remain here until uncle returns. 
I know where he has gone, and what 
is his mission.” 

Mr. Henshaw soon found Duncan 
and proved to his perfect satisfac- 


38 


As a Man Lives. 


tion that all Janet had said was true. 
He called his wife and daughters 
and taking Janet’s hand in his said. 

“We all owe you an apology, 
Janet, for bringing a false accusa- 
tion against you. I am very sorry, 
and can only hope that you will for- 
give us.” 

! Janet put her arms around her 
uncle’s neck, and kissing him, said, 
“I don’t believe you ever thought me 
guilty Uncle, and I cannot think what 
I have done to make aunt distrust me 
so.” 

“Come wife,” whispered Tom, 
“tell the girl you don’t mistrust 
her, and that you are sorry about 
this.” 

But the woman’s pride was too 
much hurt at being baffled in her 
suspicions, so she remarked spite- 
fully, as she left the room, “Well! 
If you are innocent I must say you 
looked guiltier than innocent people 
usually do.” 

The two girls, who were disturbed 
and envious that Janet was noticed 
at all by Mr. Duncan, slipped out 
without a word. 


a Man Lives. 


89 


For a day or two life settled down 
into the usual routine for Janet, 
except that her aunt was, if possible, 
more exacting, and the girls con- 
stantly on the watch to discover if 
she met Mr. Duncan, by chance or 
otherwise. 


CHAPTER V. 


Mr. Henshaw’s two sons were in 
offices in San Francisco, but a bank 
holiday falling on Friday, they had 
from Thursday evening until Monday 
morning, and quickly decided to 
spend the few days at home. 

They had not seen Janet since she 
was a little girl, and were, naturally, 
struck by her stately grace and dig- 
nity, and impressed by her refined 
manner and conversation. 

“What stunning brown eyes she 
has! ” said Charley. 

“What jolly, shiny brown hair!” 
said Tom. “It’s just the color of my 
horse. * I tell you, there are not 
many girls like her even in San Fran- 
cisco.” 

They found many ways of pleasing 
Janet, such as a ramble in the woods, 
a row on the river, or a ride on a 
spirited broncho. She had been a 
fearless rider as a child, sitting 
any kind of a saddle, or simply a 

40 


As a Man Lives. 


41 


blanket, so she particularly enjoyed 
riding. Again, Mrs. Henshaw, mother- 
like, would excuse Janet from her 
house-tasks in order to please the 
boys. Mr. Duncan was frequently 
of the party, and insisted on provid- 
ing Janet with a horse to ride. 

Mary and Annie Henshaw soon 
perceived the marked attention Mr. 
Duncan showed Janet, and could not 
conceal their jealousy of her. 

“ I don’t believe Mr. Duncan knows 
what sort of a father Janet had or he 
would not show her so much defer- 
ence, ” said Mary. “I am going to 
tell him for I think he should know.” 
This she did, putting poor Jack 
Stanton in the worst possible light. 

Mr. Duncan interrupted her by 
saying, “Are you not rather severe, 
Miss Henshaw? I know Mr. Stan- 
ton’s history from the day he first 
landed in California, and he was not 
all bad. Why, even your brothers 
have told me how kind he was to 
them, and how much they learned 
under his instruction. Charley says 
that he would not be able to hold the 


42 


As a Man Lives. 


position he does now, if he had been 
less advanced in his studies when he 
first went to San Francisco. I think 
you do Mr. Stanton a great injustice, 
Miss Henshaw; unintentionally, I 
have no doubt, for you surely would 
not willingly speak unkindly of the 
dead. We are none of us perfect, you 
know.” 

After the boys returned to the 
city, Janet’s dull life began again. 
Mr. Duncan called frequently, but 
Mrs. Henshaw always contrived to 
give her some employment, during 
the time of his stay; so for some 
days she did not see him. But one 
day she met him on her way home 
from the post-office. He raised his 
hat, and walking along with her said, 

“Miss Stanton, have I said or 
done anything to offend you? You 
seem to avoid m e lately . Why is it ? ” 

“Indeed, no, Mr. Duncan, you 
have not offended me, neither have I 
avoided you, but my days of pleasure 
ceased when the boys left. My time 
is so fully occupied now that I rarely 
have ten minutes to myself through 


As a Man Lives. 43 

the day; when I go to my room, I am 
too tired to read or write or do any- 
thing but retire for the rest I so much 
need.” 

“Well, Miss Stanton, I shall bring 
my horse around to-morrow, and ask 
you to go out for a drive.” 

“Indeed, no, Mr. Duncan! you 
must not. I shall not have the time, 
and I am quite sure aunt would not 
consent. ” 

“Well, we shall see,” said the 
asthte young man. “She will not 
refuse if I ask one of her daughters 
to accompany us. Trust me, I will 
manage it.” 

The next morning Miss Henshaw 
received a polite note, asking if she 
and Miss Stanton would go for a 
drive with him in the afternoon. 

Mrs. Henshaw and her daughter 
were flattered by this attention, but 
they could not see why he should 
invite Janet. 

The girls were ready when he 
arrived. He quietly helped Miss 
Henshaw into the back seat of the 
carriage, then on the moment’s impulse 


44 


As a Man Lives. 


invited one of the children to go with 
them, and placed the happy little one 
beside her sister, thus leaving the 
seat beside his own free for Janet. 
Miss Henshaw was much annoyed by 
this arrangement; in fact, she was 
so humiliated that she scarcely spoke 
during the drive, so Janet and Mr. 
Duncan had the conversation all to 
themselves. 

They went through a pretty, fertile 
valley, and up through a cool canon, 
where ferns and mosses grew, on to 
a mountain road, among the red- 
woods. Janet enjoyed herself greatly. 
The scenery was grand. Mountains 
and pine-wood forests, with the river, 
a peaceful flood, hundreds of feet 
below them. Sometimes an open 
plain with cattle grazing, stretched 
below them, then the pines and red- 
woods closed about them again. 
They were just emerging from a 
dense forest, when suddenly the horse 
stopped short, snorting violently. 
Mr. Duncan wondered as to the 
cause, but Janet saw, and exclaimed, 

“Look, Mr. Duncan, there is a 
bear! ” 


As a Man Lives. 


45 


Stretched on a branch overhanging 
the road, was a small brown bear. 
The horse refused to go under the 
branch, in spite of Mr. Duncan’s 
urging, so there was nothing to do 
but to wait bruin’s pleasure. 

“I wish I had a gun with me!” 
cried Mr. Duncan. “I’ve tried to 
find one of those fellows. I would 
give anything to take his skin home 
to England as a trophy.” 

They halted fully twenty minutes 
in the cool, fragrant shadows, and 
bruin, having finished his nap, cool- 
ly climbed down the tree, and re- 
treated into the forest. 

On reaching home Miss Henshaw 
gave full vent to her feelings, and 
declared she had only been taken 
along to play goosebeny, and that 
Mr. Duncan and Janet had been 
exceedingly rude to her. Mrs. Hen- 
shaw declared that her daughters 
should not be insulted again in such 
manner, and that in the future Janet 
could remain at home until she 
learned polite behavior. 

Janet’s life grew more and more 


46 


As a Man Lives. 


irksome. The weather was exceed- 
ingly warm, and with the hard work 
she was compelled to do she looked 
so thin and ill that at last Mr. Hen- 
shaw noticed it, and asked her if she 
were sick. 

“ Not sick, Uncle, hut tired. I 
suppose it is the heat chiefly, and I 
really have more work than I am able 
to do. Belle St. John, one of my 
school fellows at Richmond House, 
has asked me to visit her, and if you 
are willing I should very much 
like to go.” 

“ Of course I am willing, my girl. 
Anything to see you looking better 
than you have done lately. When do 
you want to go ? ” 

“Saturday if I may, Uncle. It is 
Belle’s birthday, Monday, and she 
wants the three girls who graduated 
with her to be present on her eigh- 
teenth birthday.” 

Mrs. Henshaw of course objected, 
but Tom had his way, and as he put 
Janet on the stage, slipped a purse 
into her hand, whispering, 

“Buy yourself some clothes like 


As a M an Lives. 


47 


city girls wear. The money’s your 
own.” 

She did not have a chance to say 
good-bye to Mr. Duncan before leav- 
ing. She was sorry, because he had 
always been very kind to her, and 
she would at least have liked to 
thank him, but he did not know she 
was going, so of course was not at 
the stage to see her depart. She 
never thought for a moment that he 
would care about her absence or miss 
her at all. She felt herself of so 
small importance in any one’s life. 


CHAPTER VI. 


The short journey was uneventful. 
The dust was blinding, and the sun 
was very hot. 

Janet could not believe that sho 
had been only a year with the Hen- 
shaws. It seemed an eternity, and 
she began already to dread returning 
to them. 

The sun was sinking behind the 
Golden Gate and the water seemed 
strewed with gold dust as she boarded 
the ferry boat to cross the bay of 
San Francisco. 

At the wharf were Belle and Mr. 
St. John waiting to receive her, and 
a very warm welcome they gave her. 

The St. John home on Pacific 
Avenue, so pretty and comfortable, 
seemed a haven of rest to the weary 
girl. Belle immediately carried her 
off to her own room, and having 
removed her hat and wraps drew her 
to the light. Taking Janet’s face 
between her hands, she said, 


As a Man Lives. 


49 


‘ 1 My poor Janet, what have you 
done to yourself ? How thin you 
have grown, dear! And how large 
and sad your eyes look ! Have you 
been ill?” 

“No,” said Janet. “But I some- 
times wonder that I did not lose 
health entirely. However, it is a long 
story, Belle, and I must tell you some 
other time. Perhaps we ought to go 
down to your father. He will won- 
der what has become of us.” 

“ Wait a minute, Janet,” said Belle, 
blushing prettily. “I have a secret 
to tell you; I could not write it, but 
— well, I want your congratulations.” 

“Dear Belle! are you really 
engaged? Indeed I do congratulate 
you with all my heart. And who is 
the lucky fellow?” 

‘ ‘ He has a nice name— Paul Gurson. 
You shall meet him to-morrow even- 
ing. Now let us go to papa. He 
has been wanting so much to know 
you, Janet.” 

The Rev. Mr. St. John was an 
Englishman, at this time an Episcopal 
clergyman in San Francisco. He was 


50 


As a Man Lives . 


a clever man, fond of study and 
research, but with strong opinions of 
his own ; these same opinions had 
forced him to give up a good living 
in England, and come to America. 
He showed great conscientiousness, 
but, according to his friends, very 
little tact and business shrewdness. 

Mrs. St. John was in every sense 
of the word a helpmeet to her hus- 
band and a truly good woman. 

“Mamma is away from home, 
nursing one of her poor women,” said 
Belle, on the way down stairs, “but 
she said to give you her love, and tell 
you that she would be back to wel- 
come you just as soon as she could 
be spared.” 

‘ ‘ She is so kind ! ’ ’ said Janet, wish- 
ing already that this peaceful haven 
might shelter her always. 

“Well, Papa,” said Belle, as they 
entered the pretty parlor over-looking 
the bay, “is Janet anything like 
you imagined she would be?” 

“Yes, and no,” said Mr. St. 
John, regarding her closely through 
his glasses. “ She is a great deal 


As a Man Lives. 


51 


more like an English girl, than I 
should have thought one brought up 
in California would be: How old 
were you when you left . England* 
Miss Stanton?” 

“ I believe that I was not more than 
two years, but I am. not quite sure, 
and of course I do not remember any- 
thing of England.” 

Dinner being announced at this 
moment, Mr. St. John said to his 
daughter:. 

“ I think we would better not wait 
for your mother, for I expect that our 
guest must be quite famished after 
her long journey.” 

“Mamma told me not to delay 
dinner for her, Papa, as she could not 
tell when she would be home.” 

So Mr. St. John offered an arm to 
each of the young ladies, and in a 
graceful but rather ceremonious man- 
ner conducted them to the dining 
room . 

Janet thought that never in her 
life had she sat down to such an 
elegantly simple meal. How different 
it was to any in her aunt’s house, 


52 


As a Man Lives . 


where was sufficient abundance, but 
everything in confusion. 

Mrs. St. John soon returned, and 
gave Janet a cordial welcome. 

“How is your patient, Mamma?” 
asked Belle, when she had seen her 
mother’s wants attended to. 

“Better, much better,” said Mrs. 
St. John. “I really believe it was 
nourishing food that she wanted 
more than anything else. She will 
not beg and could not work. I am so 
thankful I found her. By-the-way, 
Belle, I called on Martha, the colored 
woman who lost her little boy the 
other day, and in trying to console her 
I said that one so young could not 
have committed any sin, and that no 
doubt the child was in heaven. ‘ Ah, 
ma’am,’ she said, ‘but they are all 
strangers there and little Tommy was 
so shy ! ’ and then she burst into tears.” 

The whole evening was a bright 
and pleasant one to Janet, and she 
really forgot herself and became as 
jovial as the rest. 

The St. Johns were charming 
people, congenial and happy together, 


As a Man Lives. 


53 


with no one to upbraid or misjudge. 
It was a revelation to Janet, 
that a home could be so peaceful and 
harmonious. 

The next evening, after dinner, 
Mr. Curson came. He was a tall, dark 
man, with a long nose and a heavy 
black moustache. He and Belle 
usually spent the evening in the 
music room, but this night they 
remained in the parlor. When Mr. 
St. John returned from church he 
joined them, with Mr. Farnam, 
Gladys’ father. 

Mr. Farnam was very fond of airing 
his views. He launched into the 
financial question by saying “The 
science of finance is the most vital 
study we have to consider.” 

“Oh, no,” said Mr. St. John. 
“There is at least one more impor- 
tant.” 

“Money,” insisted Mr. Farnam, 
“is the propelling power. Every- 
thing depends upon it. All the sub- 
jects that the public agitate, even 
religion, if the discussion doesn’t 
start with money, ends with it. 


54 


As a Man Lives . 


Everything inevitably turns to the 
money question. It is the great pur- 
chasing medium, and must always 
have the strongest influence over 
human affairs. I believe the more 
plentiful money becomes, the sooner 
we shall reach complete barter, or 
service for service. Some people 
think higher prices will give the 
workingman more profit, while others 
say low prices will benefit the masses. 
Whatever increases the amount of 
money in circulation benefits society, 
and the more contracted the currency, 
the lower prices will be, simply 
because people have not the money to 
pay. And the determination of the 
question rests simply on the power to 
influence others.” 

“I believe,” said Mr. St.John, 
mounting his hobby, “that we are 
influenced by environment. The 
strongest soul may sink in an atmos- 
phere of impurity. The two great- 
est curses in life are to be over- 
worked, and to be underfed. The 
man who has nothing to do, ceases to 
produce, so he consumes, and is a loss 


As a Man Lives. 55 

to the prospective wealth of a coun- 
try. We are not all equal and 
cannot be made so until the handicaps 
of birth and heredity are overcome, 
but we can all be raised above the 
degrading influence of pauperism. 
What will do this? Not charity and 
almsgiving — they only put a premium 
on idleness. Inspire the poor with 
self-respect, find the work to do, and 
raise their wages to a point, at least, 
that will insure their living decently, 
with food that will keep both body 
and mind healthy. Let the law fix 
wages at a rate that will enable them 
to live respectably, and then the 
spectacle of a whole family crowded 
into one room, with unwholesome, 
insufficient food, will be a thing of 
the past.” 

“That is true,” said Mr. Farnam, 
“ it is the want of money that makes 
slaves of us. To feed the higher 
nature, we must cultivate the beauti- 
ful side of life. And to do this, we 
must have money. Think what crav- 
ings the poor must have for those 
things their nature demands, but 


56 


As a Man Lives. 


which they are unable to get. Pov- 
erty is the greatest curse on earth. 
The desire for something better is an 
advance upward. The woman, (I 
am speaking of the poor,) who has 
better things in her house — better 
furniture, and more rooms, is not 
directly benefiting her neighbors, but 
she sets others to work in the same 
direction, and is the centre of a 
movement toward improvement. The 
lack of money lowers our standard. 
If we cannot have the best we must 
put up with an imitation, and then 
we relapse into that soul destroying 
state of things, where we are easily 
satisfied with unworthy things. The 
general demand today is not for the 
best in literature, or art; we are 
content with mediocrity, because it 
is all we can afford to pay for.” 

“Then you think,” said Mr. St. 
John, “ that the higher the standard 
of living the more money will circu- 
late ? ” 

“Yes, because it is the money 
expended constantly here and there 
that circulates. That is why the 


As a Man Lives. 


57 


needs of the rich benefit the poorer 
classes.” 

‘‘But surely,” said Mr. St.John, 
“ as long as the world lasts there will 
be the poor.” 

“Of course there will be,” said 
Mr. Curson, “for some have not the 
ability to keep money, once they get 
it, any more than others have the 
power of spending it or can correct 
the desire to hoard it.” 

Janet listened intently. It was 
pleasant to hear discussion that 
was not of the shop, saloon or mine. 

“Iam thinking,” said Mr. Far- 
nam, “ of enlarging that home Miss 
Wise started. I shall include boys, 
and try to help both the boys and 
girls to help themselves.” 

“How shall you be able to do it ? ” 
asked Janet, who was interested. 

“Well, my deaf young lady, all 
of my pupils who are without a home, 
can still find one there, as of old; 
those who have homes can come and 
learn a trade, and they will be paid 
from the first for all the work they 
do. I only make one stipulation, 


58 


As a Man Lives. 


which is, that as soon as a pupil is 
proficient at his trade and making 
money, he must give one half day, or 
evening, a week to the school.” 

“That is excellent,” said the minis- 
ter, “ I think I can send you a dozen 
children at once.” 

The next day being warm and 
bright, and Belle’s birthday, the four 
girls and their escorts took an ex- 
tended trip on the bay, and all dined 
at the St. Johns’ in the evening. 
Janet was like one in a dream of 
delight. There was only one thing 
to mar it. She began to mistrust 
Mr. Curson, although she was angry 
with herself for what she tried to 
persuade herself was unreasonable 
and unjust. 

‘ ‘ What right have I to judge him,” 
she thought, “when I have known 
him only one day ? ” 

“By the way,” she asked Belle, 
“what has become of Reggie ? ” 
“Have you not heard? You 
know that he always had a sweet 
voice. He used to amuse himself 
singing while at Monterey. He got 


As a Man Lives. 


59 


much stronger, and their cottage was 
right on the beach. Miss Wise played 
his accompaniments for him, and they 
often noticed an elderly gentleman 
listening. Well, one day Miss Wise 
had left Reggie in his chair, and gone 
to speak to a friend at some distance, 
when this gentleman came up to 
Reggie and asked if he might go in 
the cottage and hear him sing. The 
end of it was that he offered to send 
Reggie and his aunt to Europe that 
his voice might he cultivated, for he 
said it was phenomenal. So they 
have gone, and are at present in 
Dresden, I believe. Is it not grand 
for Reggie ? They say the old gentle- 
man is so rich, and has no children 
of his own. ” 

“How fortunate,” cried Janet 
‘ 1 And we helped it on, you know, by 
sending him to Monterey.” 

“ Oh yes !” said Belle, “ he always 
thanked us for his good fortune. 
Poor little fellow! I hope he will 
grow strong and well.” 

Janet was much surprised, one day, 
on returning from a walk, to find Mr. 


60 


As a Man Lives. 


Duncan there. He said as he had a 
little business to transact in San 
Francisco, he thought he would call 
and see her before returning to Chico. 

Mrs. St. John invited him to 
remain for dinner, as it would be 
served in half an hour. 

When Mr. St. John was introduced, 
he said, “Duncan, Duncan! Was 
your father’s name Malcolm Dun- 
can? ” 

“Yes, that was my father’s name, 
as it is also mine.” 

“ Then we were at college together, 
Christ Church, Cambridge,” said 
Mr. St.John. “He was a clever 
fellow, and a warm friend of 
mine. I welcome you for his sake, 
as well as for your own, my boy. 
But tell me, is he yet alive? ” 

“Oh yes! and as hale and hearty 
as yourself. He isM. P. for — shire.” 

“ Did he never enter the church? 
He used to say he never would.” 

“And he never did,” said Mal- 
colm. “But he is a very public 
spirited man.” 

After dinner the young people went 


As a Man Lives. 


61 


to a concert, and Malcolm, being 
pressed to make the St. Johns’ home 
his while in the city, returned with 
the girls. 

“ When shall you go back to Chico, 
Miss Stanton?” he asked, on taking 
leave of his friends. Janet shud- 
dered at the thought and said that 
she dreaded to think of it, but sup- 
posed she must, some day. 

After lunch Mrs. St. John called 
Belle and asked her to go and take 
some dainties she had prepared for 
her sick people, and having seen her 
depart, she asked Janet to step into 
the study. When they were alone 
she said in her kindly way, “My 
dear, I imagine, from what I have 
heard you say, that you are not happy 
in your home. Why is it? I ask 
in kindness if you feel free to give 
me your confidence.” 

“Oh, I’m afraid I am very wicked 
to say such things, but somehow the 
whole life there is hateful to me.” 

“ On which side are the Henshaws 
related to you? Your mother’s or 
father’s?” 


62 


As a Man Lives. 


“I don’t know; I have never 
heard,” said Janet. “I wag taught 
to call them uncle and aunt, but I 
sometimes wonder if they really are 
my relatives. Uncle is very kind to 
me. But the rest of the family are 
not, and they are entirely different 
from my parents, as I remember them. 
Besides, none of their relatives are 
ever mentioned as relatives of mine.” 

“ Is there no way of finding out 
about it? ” asked Mrs. St. John. 

“None that I can see,” said Janet 
sadly. 

“ Well, my dear, of course if they 
are related to you, they have the first 
claim ; but if they are willing, and 
you would like it, I shall be very 
glad to offer you a home here with 
Belle. I know you would not wish 
to lead an idle life, and you need not. 
You have great talent for music and 
a good voice. You might join the 
choir at church and give music lessons 
as well.” 

“ How sweet and kind you are to 
me, dear Mrs. St. John! That is 
just what I should most like to do. 


As a Man Lives . 


63 


But shall I not be intruding if I 
remain an inmate of your house? 
Will you not weary of having another 
girl in the family?” 

‘ ‘ When I do, I will let you know ; ’ ’ 
said Mrs. St. John smiling. “Now 
I must go, for I have some visits to 
make. I hope you will be happy 
with us, my dear;” and so the matter 
appeared to be settled. She kissed 
Janet affectionately and called her 
“my girl.” 

“ I’m only afraid that I shall be 
too happy,” said Janet. “I will 
write to uncle at once.” 

Mr. Henshaw made no objection 
to the arrangement, so on the fol- 
lowing Sunday she took her place in 
the choir, and on Monday commenced 
with two young pupils, three more 
being promised in a week. 

What a different world it seemed 
to Janet now! How bright every- 
thing looked, and how kind every- 
one was to her. She thought that 
no one was so happy as she, and the 
days flew by instead of dragging 
along as they did in the old life. 


64 


As a Man Lives. 


“ Why,” said she, one morning at 
breakfast, “I have actually been 
here a whole month!’ * 

Mr. Curson came every evening 
and as he was very fond of music, 
and quite proficient himself Janet 
saw a great deal of him, for she 
never refused to play or sing when 
she was asked to do so. 

One morning Mrs. St. John and 
Belle were from home. Janet was 
practicing a solo she was to sing the 
following Sunday. Mr. Curson was 
announced, and at once advanced 
towards the piano. 

“Ah! how lucky!” he said. “I 
wanted you to try this over.” He 
unrolled a sheet of music, saying, 
“It is a pretty thing, by Calis a 
Lovalles. Do you know it? ” 

“ I think not, ” said Janet slowly ; 
“ why did you not bring it this eve- 
ning, Mr. Curson?” 

‘ ‘ I wanted to give you a longer 
time to practice it, in case you will 
kindly sing it at a concert to-morrow 
evening. The lady who was to have 
sung it is seriously indisposed.” 


As a Man Lives. 


65 


“ I will do my best,” said Janet, 
running it over carefully. Presently 
she arose from the piano, and turn- 
ing to him begged to be excused, 
remarking that it was the hour for a 
pupil’s lesson. 

When Belle returned, Janet told 
her of the request Mr. Curson had 
made. 

1 1 How sweet of you, dear, to com- 
ply!” said Belle. “ And how much 
Paul appreciates your ability. He 
did not even ask me, you see.” 

“I suppose,” said Janet gently, 
“that he thought it would suit my 
voice.” 

Belle went with Janet to the con- 
cert, and Mr. Curson escorted them 
both home. Janet’s voice was very 
much complimented, and Mr. Far- 
nam, who was present, asked her to 
sing with Gladys at the opening of 
his new home. Janet consented, and 
later was practicing her song when 
Mr. Curson called. Janet was indig- 
nant. He knew that Mrs. St. John 
and Belle were at Santa Cruz for a 
few days, and that she did not court 


66 


As a Man Lives. 


his presence. Janet turned to him, 
and said sharply, 

“Mr. Curson, you have no right 
to come here so frequently when Belle 
and her mother are away, and if I 
refuse to receive you, you must not 
wonder.” 

“Don’t be offended, Janet,” he 
begged. “What harm can it do if 
I come in for half an hour sometimes 
to listen to your music ? No one 
pleases me at the piano as you do.” 

“I shall certainly not play for you, 
and as the morning is the only time I 
have to practice, when Mr. St. John 
is out, you will force me to refuse to 
sing at the concert. Besides,” she 
said, “by what right of courtesy or 
friendship do you call me by my 
Christian name ?” 

“I beg your pardon if I have 
offended you,” he said humbly 
enough. 

“I am offended by your intrusion,” 
said Janet firmly. “And I insist 
that you leave me now and that we 
never refer to the subject again.” 

“Very well,” he said smiling. “I 


As a Man Lives. 


67 


shall always obey your wishes.” His 
look and manner were even more 
displeasing than his words. 

When he was gone Janet rushed up 
to her room, locked the door, and 
burst into tears. Her first thought 
when she was more composed was to 
tell Mr. St. John all, but she was 
afraid of the effect on Belle. 

“ It would make her so unhappy,” 
thought Janet. “ After all the 
kindness of these dear friends, how 
could I do anything that would cause 
them one moment’s unhappiness ? 
No, I must fight it out by myself. 
Perhaps he will give up his foolish 
persistence now. And perhaps after 
all, I have exaggerated the danger. — 
I certainly have not encouraged his 
attention.” 

She told the servants never to 
admit any one to see her while she 
was practicing her music, and 
resolved never to be in the house 
alone at any other time. She had 
always taken the morning hours for 
practice, and she must continue to do 
so, because that was the only time 


68 


As a Man Lives 


when she could be sure that Mr. St 
John was not at home, and it was nec- 
essary that the house should be quiet 
when he was in his study. 


CHAPTER VII. 


The evening of the entertainment 
arrived, and it was arranged that Mr. 
St. John should take Janet in a closed 
carriage, as she must appear in even- 
ing dress. They were just preparing 
to start when a messenger came beg- 
ging Mr. St. John to go to the deathbed 
of a man who had been seriously 
wounded by an accident on the street. 

“The doctor says he may die any 
minute,” said the messenger, “and 
the man says that he has something 
he must tell you.” 

“I am sorry, Janet,” said Mr. St. 
John, “I will see you there at any 
rate, and if possible I will come 
before the concert is over and escort 
you home. If I can not be there in 
time the carriage will be waiting, 
and I must depend on some of our 
friends to see you safely home.” 

The hall was crowded when they 
arrived, and the concert commenced 
almost immediately. Janet and 


70 


As a Man Lives. 


Gladys wore simple white dresses with 
La France roses. The other ladies 
who took part, being married, and 
older, were handsomely gowned in 
heavy silks. 

“Who is Gladys’ friend?” they 
asked. “ What a fine musician she 
is, and so young!” 

“ She is an orphan, and a school- 
fellow of Gladys’ and Belle’s,” 
said Mrs. Farnam. “ She has always 
shown great talent for music, and now 
she has taken it up as a profession as 
she had the best of instruction at 
school. She gives lessons too.” 

“I shall certainly send my children 
to her,” said Mrs.' Valentine. 

“And so shall I,” chorused several 
others, anxious to patronize the 
protege of wealthy Mrs. Farnam. 
Janet was introduced and compli- 
mented, and promised as many pupils 
as she could desire. 

Meeting Mr. Farnam, she inquired 
if he had seen Mr. St. John since the 
concert was over? 

“I have not, my dear young lady,” 
said he. “But your carriage is 


As a Man Lives. 


71 


waiting, and I will see you safely into 
it, if you will allow me.” 

Taking his arm, she descended the 
stairs, stepped into the carriage, and 
was just about to close the door, when 
a voice said, 

“I will see Miss Stanton home.” 
Before she could remonstrate Mr. 
Curson had entered, and they were 
whirled rapidly away. 

“At last!” said he. “Janet, will 
you tell me why you avoid me? You 
know how I regard you; I love you, 
Janet, and only you. Will you marry 
me? And I am rich,” he added eag- 
erly. “You shall have every luxury. 
There will be no more drudgery of 
teaching.” 

“How dare you!” cried Janet. 
“Loose my hand this moment! Do 
you forget that you have asked Miss 
St. John to be your wife and that she 
is your betrothed, faithful and true to 
you?” 

“Oh! Little Belle!” He said 
carelessly. “She will soon forget me. 
I don’t want her, I want you! Say 


72 


As a Man Lives. 


you will marry me, Janet. I will 
manage the rest.” 

The frightened girl hurst into tears. 

“Don’t cry dear,” he whispered 
with a tenderness that dismayed her. 
“We shall be happy together yet. 
And Belle is such a home baby, she 
will not care much.” 

Janet made no reply, but waited in 
sileat terror and indignation for 
the drive to end. At last the horses 
stopped. Janet sprang out, refusing 
Mr. Curson’s proffered hand. No 
sooner had she alighted than the 
carriage rolled swiftly away. Then, 
and not until then, did she realize 
that they were not at her home, but 
in a strange part of the city. 

‘ 1 How dare you ! ’ ’ she cried angrily. 
“ Tell me where I am this instant!” 

“You are at my home, Miss Stanton. 
I could not take you back to the St. 
Johns’ with your eyes all red from weep- 
ing; Mr. St. John would have wanted 
to know the cause. I will call my 
landlady. She will take care of you 
until you are calmer, and then I will 
take you home.” 


As a Man Lives. 


73 


“I shall not go inside the house 
with you,” cried Janet, and in des- 
peration she started to run down the 
street. At the corner she met a 
gentleman, and stopping him she said, 

“ I have lost my way, and this man 
is annoying me. Will you kindly see 
me home?” 

Before he could answer Mr. Curson 
said, 

“ This lady is my wife. You had 
better not interfere. I will see her 
home myself.” 

“It is false!” cried Janet de- 
spairingly, ‘ ‘ I am no relation of 
his.” Curson tried to take her arm, 
hut the stranger noting the wicked- 
ness in his face, gave him a blow 
that sent him staggering. Then he 
asked Janet, “Where is your home?” 

“If the cars have not stopped,” 
said Janet, “will you kindly put me 
on a Polk or Sutter Street car, and I 
can manage very well.” 

■ The stranger understood her motive . 
They soon reached the cars. He 
stopped one, raised his hat and left 
her. 


74 


As a Man Lives. 


When she rang the bell, Mr. St. 
John opened the door himself, saying 
as he did so, “I did not hear the 
carriage, Janet. I have been listen- 
ing for it. Are you not late?” 

“Yes,” answered the girl wearily. 
“Late and tired. Please let me go 
to my room.” 

“Why, certainly, my dear. I will 
hear all about it tomorrow. I’m afraid 
you are working too hard. You look 
pale.” 

He regarded her gravely. 

“Oh no!” she cried. “ I love my 
work! Dear Mr. St. John, I want 
to thank you for all your kindness to 
me. Yon are the only friends I have 
in the world, and I shall never forget 
your goodness.” 

She ran hastily upstairs and shut 
herself in her room. Mr. St. John 
listened, murmuring, “Poor girl! it 
is sad to be an orphan, even with 
the best of friends for aid and com- 
fort,” and resumed his paper. 

Janet removed her evening dress, 
put on a wrapper and sitting down 


As a Man Lives. 


75 


began to ponder over the strange 
thing that had happened to her. 

“Should I let Belle know what a 
villain she is trusting? It would 
break her heart! How could I tell 
them! Would they believe me guilt- 
less? There is only one thing to do. 
To fly and leave no word, or let any- 
one in the world know where I am. 
But where can I go? To Chico — 
drudgery, and my aunt’s bitter 
tongue? Never. No, I would rather 
work for strangers. I must go right 
away,” thought the foolish girl, 
not capable of deciding wisely in her 
excited frame of mind. “I cannot 
meet Mr. St. John in the morning. 
He would be sure to question me, 
and what could I say to him? I can- 
not even leave a note, for what could 
I write? I must leave the house like 
a culprit and coward, and let them 
think what they may of me. Oh, if 
I had never come to San Francisco! 
If I had never known any other life, 
I might have been contented in Chico, 
where I was at least safe. Why was 
I ever born, to bring trouble to my 


76 


As a M an Lives . 


dearest friends? Surely the sins of 
the fathers are visited upon the chil- 
dren ! Poor little Belle! What will 
she think? Well, I shall never know, 
for I will never see her again. I 
pray heaven to avert the dread 
fate that threatens her.” 

With the dawn she arose, after a 
sleepless night, and gatheringtogether 
a few of her most necessary things 
in a small bag, she put on her plain- 
est dress and hat, stole down stairs, 
opened the door softly and hurried 
down the street. Not trusting her- 
self to look behind her, she fairly flew 
over the ground, fearing irresolution 
might overtake her. She did not 
realize the irrevocable step she was 
taking or its sorrowful conse- 
quences. Her only present thought 
was to get away from it all, even as 
if she were fleeing from guilt on her 
own part. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


The breakfast hour came, but Janet 
did not appear. The maid asked 
Mr. St. John if he would wait for 
her, and he said, “No, and if she 
is not down by nine, take something 
up to her room.” 

At nine the maid knocked at her 
door, and receiving no answer opened 
it only to find it silent and vacant. 
Mr. St. John was alarmed, on return- 
ing at noon, to hear that Janet was 
gone. 

“I think she must have left the 
city,” said the maid, “for a small 
valise and part of her clothes are 
gone.” 

“No doubt,” said Mr. St.John, 
“she must have gone to Santa Cruz to 
Miss Belle. I shall be going there 
tomorrow and will bring them all 
home with me.” In his heart he did 
not believe this plausible explana- 
tion of Janet’s absence, but hoped 


77 


78 


As a Man Lives . 


that it would check the servant’s 
gossip. 

The next day, on reaching the 
hotel where Mrs. St. John and Belle 
were staying, his first inquiry was 
for Janet. 

“ Why, we have not seen her, Papa 
What do you mean?” 

“I’m afraid,” he replied gravely, 
“ that there is something wrong 
somewhere. I have not seen Janet 
since the night of the concert, and 
I begin to feel anxious. You have 
not heard from her?” 

“ Not a word,” said Mrs. St. John. 
“Where can she be? Did any- 
thing go wrong at the concert, do 
you think? Perhaps her music was 
not appreciated.” 

“ On the contrary, the concert was 
a great success both socially and 
financially, and Janet was much 
complimented on every side. They 
thought it quite remarkable that so 
young a girl should be so finished a 
musician.” 

“What can we do?” cried Belle. 
“ We must find her. Could you not 


As a Man Lives. 


79 


telegraph to Chico, and find out if 
she is there, Papa?” 

“Yes, I was just thinking I would 
do that at once.” 

He soon returned saying, 

“Mr. Henshaw is in the city. He 
has gone down to see Janet on 
business, and they suppose that she 
is with him.” 

“Perhaps she is,” said Mrs. St. 
John, “ still it is strange that she did 
not say anything to you about it, 
and quite unlike her. There is noth- 
ing secretive about Janet. I have 
found her always so open and upright 
in speech and behavior.” 

“Well,” said Mr. St. John, some- 
what relieved, “we shall return to 
the city tomorrow, and no doubt we 
shall find her with her uncle.” 

They walked along the beach, 
which was almost deserted, talking 
of Janet. It was a lovely evening in 
Autumn. The sunset was glorious, 
and the water sparkled as though 
innumerable stars were dancing on 
the waves. But in spite of the beauty 
of their surroundings their hearts 


80 


As a Man Lives. 


were sad, for they had grown very 
fond of Janet. It grieved them to 
think that there was something 
hidden in her life. Who and what 
were her parents ? “She is no ordi- 
nary girl,” said Mr. St. John. “If 
Mr. Henshaw is in the city when I 
go back, I shall ask him what he 
knows of them.” 

“Was that Miss Ramona who 
passed us then ?” said Mrs. St. John. 
“I am afraid she is getting a little 
wild. I see, or rather hear her 
every evening out here, and I do not 
like the class of men she is w T ith. I 
don’t think her mother can know of 
it; she has been quite ill since they 
have been here, but Stella does not 
seem to think it her place to nurse 
her mother. Of course they are rich, 
and can afford nurses and all else 
they require, but I am afraid that 
Stella has no heart. I think her 
mother worries about her a great 
deal.” 

“Who are her girl companions?” 
asked Mr. St. John. 

‘ ‘ She has almost none. She doesn’t 


As a Man Lives. 


81 


want any, I think. I have not said 
anything to Belle, but I notice that 
they scarcely speak, and I am not 
sorry.” 

“ Would it not be kind to speak to 
Stella, my dear ? Perhaps a word of 
warning would not be taken amiss ? ” 

“ I have already done so, but she 
was quite indignant, and said she was 
old enough to take care of herself.” 

“ Since then she has flirted desper- 
ately with Mr. Curson, ” continued 
the lady, after a pause, as if weigh- 
ing her words. 

“With Mr. Curson?” said the 
minister. “Then no wonder Belle 
resents it ! I am glad we are going 
home. I have given my consent to 
the marriage, but I sometimes wish 
that I had not. Of late I have not 
liked the man. I believe that he is 
a hypocrite, and I wish Belle would 
break off the engagement with him.” 

“She never will,” said his wife, 
“ her life is bound up in him. She 
does not think he is at fault in this 
matter, and blames only Stella.” 

On reaching home the next day 


82 


As a Man Lives. 


they found that Mr. Henshaw had 
called, and believing Janet to be in 
Santa Cruz had said that he would 
come again the next day. About 
half an hour after dinner he was 
announced. 

“I am very glad to see you sir,” 
said Mr. St. John, “ perhaps you can 
tell us something about Janet.” 

“ Is she not with you ? ” asked Mr. 
Henshaw with much concern. 

“We have not seen her for three 
days,” replied the minister. 

“Then she was not with you at 
Santa Cruz ?” asked Henshaw, thor- 
oughly alarmed. “This is exceed- 
ingly strange.” 

‘ ‘ I will tell you all I can, and then 
you can advise me what to do,” said 
St. John, and he rapidly told about 
the concert and Janet’s farewell. 

‘ 1 1 have a sealed package to deliver 
to her,” said Henshaw, “it was her 
father’s last request that I should 
give it to her on her eighteenth 
birthday. I came to San Francisco 
for the express purpose.” 

“It is terrible!” said Mr. St. 


As a Man Lives. 


83 


John ; “ we must put the case in the 
hands of the police and advertise in all 
the papers. We have lost three days 
already ! ” 

“ Had she no relations except your- 
selves in this country? ” asked Mrs. 
St. John. 

“ She has no relations at all that I 
know of,” said Mr. Henshaw. “I am 
no real relative, only a friend of her 
father. He taught her to call us 
1 Uncle’ and ‘Aunt’.” 

“ You astonish me, Mr. Henshaw. 
She did not know this, did she ? ” 

“No.” 

“ Then how kind you have been to 
her ! Treating her as though she were 
your own child all these years.” 

“There you are wrong, sir. Her 
father left more than enough for 
her education and board, and I 
have brought her the balance. I also 
meant that she should not find out we 
were not relatives until after she 
opened this package, when she was 
eighteen. What good would it have 
done to make her feel friendless ? I’m 
afraid that my people have not 


84 


Js a Man Lives . 


treated her as well as they should 
have done. Instead of Janet being 
in our debt, we are indebted to her, 
for she earned all she got, and more. 
She deserved kind treatment too, but 
I fear that she did not always get it. 
I say it with sorrow.” 

“How came you to know her 
father ? ” asked St. John. 

“I was coming from New York, 
sixteen years ago last June,” said 
Henshaw. “I had been there on 
business connected with my mine. 
I met Jack Stanton on the train. 
He had his wife and little Janet with 
him. He was a stranger in a strange 
land, seeking his fortune in a new 
country. 

“Well, I kind of took a fancy to 
him. He was a good-hearted, good- 
natured, generous fellow, and I felt 
sorry for the little wife who looked so 
delicate. Finding that he had no 
definite place in view, I told him he 
could help me in my store, until 
something better turned up. Two 
years after they came, Janet’s mother 
died. I guess the life was too rough, 


As a Man Lives. 


85 


for she was a lady. Eight years 
later Jack died, so I took little Janet, 
and kind of adopted her. But as I 
said before, she has cost me nothing, 
and now I must find her and deliver 
this package to her.” 

After he had gone Mrs. St. John 
said, “ There is one thing that puz- 
zles me. If Janet’s father went 
there without any money, how did 
he manage to make so much as an 
assistant in a store?” 

“Perhaps he was a partner at 
last,” suggested Mr. St. John. “But 
I am inclined to think that there 
was not much money left by her 
father. I believe Mr. Henshaw.is, 
what he said Jack was, a generous, 
good-natured, honest man.” 

The next day a paragraph appeared 
in all the papers, describing Janet 
and offering a reward for any infor- 
mation about her. Mr. St. John 
enquired of Mr. Farnam, and at all 
the houses where she had pupils, 
but no one knew anything of her 
strange disappearance. In fact they 
did not know as much. She seemed 


86 


As a Man Lives . 


to have disappeared as completely as 
if she had been a phantom, and 
faded from their midst. 

Mr. Henshaw was forced to return 
to Chico with the mystery of her 
disappearance still unsolved. When 
he told his wife the news, she said, 
“ Just as I expected. I always said 
the little minx was no good. The 
restraint of a minister’s house was 
too much for her, so she waited till 
the coast was clear, and then skipped. 
I have no doubt she read your 
paragraphs about her, and laughed 
in her sleeve, the ungrateful little 
hussy !” 

Come ! ” said Tom, with unusual 
sternness. Not so hard on the girl, 
wife ! I won’t have it, I say. The 
people she has been stopping with 
have no reason to think such a thing, 
and why should you? You were 
always too severe with her, and if it 
is as you say, though I’ll never 
believe it till it’s proved, it was your 
unkindness drove her to it.” 

He was grievously worried. What 
could he do with the package left in 


As a Man Lives. 


87 


his care? The St. Johns promised to 
telegraph directly if they heard any 
tidings, but no message came. He 
made a journey to San Francisco in 
search of news, visited the news- 
paper offices and police headquarters, 
but was forced to return home with- 
out any tidings. 

Mr. Duncan was greatly distressed 
and secretly employed private detec- 
tives on the case, fearing foul play. 
* * * * 

Meanwhile Mr. Farnam’s house 
was progressing finely. It was 
named, “The Helping Hand,” and 
twice a week there were lectures or 
concerts. There were six workshops 
for the different trades, and six class- 
rooms for different branches of study. 
It was pronounced a boon to society, 
because it took so many boys and 
girls from the street ; a boon to the 
poor, because they were paid for 
their work from the first; and good 
for the children, for what child does 
not like to earn money? How proud 
they are with their first earnings, and 


88 


As a Mar Lives. 


how important when they help to sup- 
port the family! 

Gladys spent most of her time at 
the home and was never so happy as 
when she had a class of girls around 
her. The girls, too, loved her bright 
face and her happy disposition. 

Belle went there occasionally, but 
her time was almost entirely taken up 
with sick people. 

After her return from Santa Cruz, 
Mr. Curson began to be less atten- 
tive. At last a week passed during 
which Belle did not see him. She 
suffered in silence, as women do, 
enduring the suspense patiently, 
until one day at the “Home” she 
picked up a paper and her eye fell 
on this notice : 

“Married, in Santa Cruz, by the 
Rev. Mr. Black, Stella Ramona and 
Paul Curson, both of San Francisco.” 

The print blurred before her eyes, 
the room grew dark and she would 
have fallen had not Gladys caught 
her in her arms. 

“Poor Belle!” said she tenderly, 
for she had seen the notice, and 


Ma'h Litibs. 


iihderstOodf “ She has fairited, e ! hrl fc 
dren ; open the window, and one 'Of 
you run for a glass of water.” * 

' It Was sometime before her eybS 
dpehed. Wheh they - did, ' sEle said; 
“ Oh, Gladys, ‘hate : I hdeh .difediii*- 
ing, dr is it true?” - 3 • 

‘‘Is. what true, ‘ dearie?” said 
Gladys, trying' tdi^oothe her. ’ d .v 
w That in' the paper gasped 
Belle 1 , ‘%ihd swObhhi. a^ain? 01 ! 

30 feladys ' sent for IVfrs. l 5 d ohn , atfd 

together they 'lifted B&11& and cat 1 - 
tied her 7 to ! the f carriage. • Oh -'the 
*v\% .to' Bella’s hbfee GkdJrS Md 
Mrs. :st. Johh the cah‘se li ‘of 
d4uglit§r's 'Condition 1 . '■ 1 0 bd;; 

“ It is my fault,” said the mothfer*. 

‘ W P wteito f tHepyhild . 

1 1 s aW' 'e ndtt'gh ‘ i iFS atit^ 0i4i¥to 

fey i ^ thB ’iruW/^ 

glad that Belle is not married to Miftl 
in^t&d^'of^tfete. "'&UW Wifi' be 
^^laliklF J fbr' f ' Mi hfenehters fel&re 
^efi^Wd^ait bo vo lad ei 

<fcF o[ thk o1 g H 4 


90 


As a Man Lives. 


said. “There is danger of brain 
fever.” 

For days her life was despaired of, 
and when the fever left her she was 
so weak that they feared she would 
never get back her strength. 

Gladys came every day, brought 
flowers and talked or read to her 
when she was strong enough to bear 
it. Mrs. St. John said Gladys was 
Belle’s tonic, and the doctor declared 
that her happy face was better for 
the invalid than medicine. 

Mr. Curson’s name was never 
mentioned. She gradually gained 
strength, and on Christmas day was 
able to take her place at the family 
table. 

“ Do you think,” asked Gladys one 
day, ‘ ‘ that Belle will ever care to 
resume her duties with the sick and 
poor?” 

“Yes indeed,” said Mrs. St. John. 
“ Belle loves her poor people, and 
is beloved by them. I think that is 
where she will find her consolation . It 
is a woman’ s nature to want to be loved, 
and to want to be helpful, and no 


As a Man Lives. 


91 


matter how sharp her own pain, she 
hides it so long as there is someone 
else to be comforted or encouraged. 
There is not a woman in the world 
who does not like to feel that someone 
relies upon her in trouble, or that 
someone comes to her first with joy- 
ous news. A woman’s first thought 
is to make herself beloved, to make 
her life of use to someone, and that 
is why kindly eyes and a pleasant 
smile are always ready to cover her 
own bitter heart burnings. I have 
no fear for Belle, for she is very like 
the rest of her sex.” 

“ Dear Mrs. St. John, you are 
endowing all women with your own 
loving nature.” 

“I have not more heart than you, 
Gladys. And we are not all blessed 
with your sunny disposition.” 

“The sun has a way of changing 
the spots upon which he shines, espec- 
ially in our land, where one is up 
today and down tomorrow. Wishing 
for the unattainable makes many 
women disagreeable.” 

“It is very easy for you to be phil- 


A s a , Man * Liv,e$. 


m 

osophical, my dear,” laughed Mrs. 
St. John. “You have never known 
poverty.” 

.“ I don’t believe that riches bring 
happiness,” Gladys said gravely. 
“Being usefully employed brings the 
truest happiness. I feel very sorry 
for those who have nothing to do.” 

. Jdrs. St. John,” asked .Gladys, 
after a pause, “have yoii heard any- 
thing of Janet?” 

“No, and it is a month now since 
she disappeared. Strange she doesn’t 
write to us! If, indeed, she is still 
alive.” 

. “I think,” said Gladys, “ that Mr. 
Duncan was quite interested, in hqr, 
and I think he would be the most 
likely to find her .” 

“Yes,” said Mrs. St. John, “but 
even he has failed.” 

- “ Wliere is he now?” 

“He left for England last 
week. He would have gone a 
week sooner, but remained to prose- 
cute the search for her. He. seemed 
sadly disappointed and depressed. 
I think I shall take Belle for a 


As a Man Lives . 


93 


ride on the cars. I fancy she can 
stand their motion better than that of 
the carriage . Will you join us, 
Gladys?” 

“Yes; with pleasure, but I must 
leave you at the ‘Helping Hand’. I 
have a class this afternoon when 
school is out.” Mr. St. John, who 
had been heading to his daughter 
came out and greeted Gladys, and 
together they went for their ride. 

Belle was very thin and pale, but 
she had a new look of sweet patience 
on her face. She did not like to be 
considered an invalid, and took up 
her w6rk again, bravely and uncom- 
plainingly. 


CHAPTER IX. 


After leaving the house Janet 
scarce paused for thought until she 
was many blocks from home. She 
then took a car which w T as crowded 
with workmen and workwomen, 
going to their daily occupations. 

“ I belong to this class,” she said 
to herself. “I wonder if they cannot 
help me find something to do?” 

One by one the men left the car, 
and when they had nearly reached the 
wharf Janet found she had the car 
to herself, excepting one girl. Sum- 
moning all her courage, she moved up 
to her and said, 

“I am a stranger in the city. Can 
you tell me where I can find work?” 

“I can’t help you none,” said the 
girl, “except by sending you to a 
employment office. What kind of 
work do you want?” 

“Anything I can get, ’’said Janet; 
“ but for reasons of my own, it must 
not be in San Francisco.” 


94 


As a Man Lives. 


95 


“ Well, I’ll give you Miss Johnson’s 
card. I’ve got one in my pocket. 
She keeps a employment office, and 
I’m sure she’ll help you.” 

Janet thanked her, and returned on 
the same car to the address given. 

The office was not open when she 
reached it, so she waited outside with 
two or three other women until Miss 
Johnson came and unlocked the door. 

“ What kind of a place do you 
want?” she asked. 

“ I think I had better not choose,” 
said Janet. “I’ll take anything you 
offer.” 

“Have you ever done house- 
work?” asked Miss Johnson. 

“Yes, I have,” said Janet, with a 
vision of Mrs. Henshaw’s kitchen 
before her. 

‘ ‘ Well, you don’t look cut out for it. 
I have half a mind to send you to Mrs. 
Richardson. She wants a kind of 
nurse-companion, to go with her to 
Southern California. She is some- 
what of an invalid.” 

“ That would suit me,” said Janet. 

“ Of course it would. It’s a place 


90 


As 'a Mdfo Litfes. 


you wouldn’t get in a thousand. It’s 
only because you are first, and seem 
likely-, that I . tell you. of it. Of 
course the l&dy will want references. 
Where have you lived.” 

“ I’m afraid I shall lose the place,” 
faltered Janet disappointed. “lam 
an orphan, and have never worked 
out.” 

“That is unfortunate.' You look 
so likely. But I know Mts. Richard- 
son would not take anyone wdthout 
references. She’s been fooled once 
or twice already.. Have you.no friends 
in San Francisco who you could ask 
to recommend you ? ” 

“No,” said Janet. “I am a 
stranger here.” 

. “ Where did? you come. from ?,’Y v 

“Chico.” < >! i 

“ Well, I like your; face, s6 I will 
send you., Here is Mrs. Richardson’s 
bard;: You must not go there before 
twelve o’clock, or else she: won’t ibe 
up. Stop a minute : l You must.' take n 
note and I must db the best Fcansioa* 
you without referenecj&.iol’llmaj? I’ve 
known you for^eajjs. iThatavilLdd, I 
guess.” 


As a Man Lives. 


97 


“ No,” said Janet, “it will not do. 
I will not commence with her by tell- 
ing a falsehood.” 

“ Well, well, you are particular. 
Take the card and do the best you 
can. I will not have anything more 
to do with it. But you pay me two 
dollars and a half if you get the place 
and don't you forget it, mind.” 

“I won’t forget,” said Janet, “I 
thank you for the card.” 

Janet had not slept all night, and 
haying eaten no breakfast began to 
feel very weak. Being far from the 
part of the city where she was known 
she slipped into a cheap restaurant 
and took a cup of coffee, saying to 
herself, 

“ I shall have to b6 careful, for if 
I fail to get this place I might have 
to live a long time on the contents of 
this little purse.” 

She felt refreshed after her light 
breakfast, and quite equal to meet- 
ing Mrs. Richardson 

She remembered that she was not 
to go there until after twelve, and 
looking at her watch determined to 


98 


As a Man Lives. 


walk, which she did, reaching her 
destination a little before the time 
mentioned. 

The door was opened by a pretty 
French girl, who informed her that 
Mrs. Richardson was in, and would 
see her in the library. 

“ I am so glad you have come. 
Take this seat near me, and let us 
talk,” said the lady. “ I was afraid 
Miss Johnson had forgotten all about 
me. I sent to her a week ago, and I 
must leave for Southern California 
tomorrow. I don’t look much like an 
invalid do I ? And I am not, though 
my doctor tells me I must take care 
of myself. Have you had any exper- 
ience in nursing, my dear, if I should 
get sick ? ” 

“I am sorry to say I have not,” 
said Janet, “but I am quite sure I 
could do it.” 

“ Then you have been companion 
instead of nurse ? ” said Mrs. Rich- 
ardson. “Where have you lived ? ” 

“I can give you no references, but 
I feel sure I shall suit you, if you will 
only try me.” 


As a Man Lives. 


99 


“Oh dear!” cried Mrs. Richard- 
son, “what shall I do? I have not 
time to send to Miss Johnson’s again. 
How could she send me someone 
without references, and one who 
knows nothing of nursing ? ” 

“Please try me, Mrs. Richardson,” 
pleaded Janet. “I must get a place 
today of some kind, even if it is to 
clean windows.” 

“ Have you no friends to go to ? ” 
“None,” said Janet. “I am an 
orphan and have not a friend in the 
whole world that I can go to.” 

“ Well, I’ll try you, but I feel sure 
that I shall be taken in again. What 
is your name ? ” 

“Janet.” 

“Janet what ? ” 

For a moment Janet hesitated, 
and then said, 

* “Miss Nomer.” 

“How strange ! That means a 
wrong name. Oh dear, it is getting 
more mysterious ! I like your face 
and the time is short. For those two 
reasons I will take you. How soon 
can you come ? ” 


100 


As a Man Lives. 


“I will stay now if I may,” said 
Janet, “and perhaps I can do the 
packing for you.” 

Mrs. Richardson rang the bell, and 
saying lunch would be served in half 
an hour, told the maid to show Miss 
Nomer to the maple room. 

Mrs. Richardson was a woman of 
about sixty-five, with snow-white 
hair, tall and rather stout. Janet 
noticed she walked with a cane, and 
her mantle was tightly drawn. 
Otherwise she seemed quite well. 

After lunch Janet was taken to 
Mrs. Richardson’s room to do the 
packing. She proved quite efficient 
in the art, and was praised for the 
careful way in which she handled the 
things. The next day they started 
on their journey, Mrs. Richardson, 
Janet and the French maid. Mrs. 
Richardson bore the journey very 
well, and Janet wondered in what 
way she was an invalid. She was 
very kind and they spent many pleas- 
ant hours together. Janet would 
either read, sing, or play, and when 
Mrs. Richardson was tired would 


As a Man Lives. 


101 


give her her tea, or if she felt like 
lying down, shake up the pillows and 
fan her. 

They were sitting together at the 
close of one hot day, when suddenly 
Mrs. Richardson said, 

“Janet, tell me your real name. 
Why did you have to enquire at an 
employment office for a place, or 
rather a home, for I presume you 
have no other place than this that 
you can call home. I like you very 
much, and I liked your face from 
the first, but I do not like mystery. 
Can you tell me the story of your 
life ? or are there reasons why you 
should not ? ” 

“Dear Mrs. Richardson, I owe 
you the truth for your kindness to 
me, and especially in taking me on 
trust as it were. So if you really 
care to hear, I will tell you.” 

The windows were opened wide; 
the moon was just rising, and a soft 
breeze, laden with the perfume of 
orange blossoms, came from the sur- 
rounding orchards. Mrs. Richard- 
son was reclining on the sofa and 


102 


As a Man Lives. 


Janet was sitting on a low stool at 
her side. 

The girl had just commenced her 
story, when suddenly Mrs. Richard- 
son gave a cry and would have rolled 
off the sofa if Janet had not held her. 
Janet wondered what it could be. 
It did not seem like a faint, and yet 
she could not speak. She bathed 
her head and face, loosened her 
dress and sent the maid for the doc- 
tor. 

As soon as he looked at her he 
said, “ This is just what Dr. L — , of 
San Francisco, expected.” 

“What is it?” asked Janet, 

“Total paralysis,” said he. “She 
is not dead, and she may live for 
several days, or even w T eeks. “ She 
may recover consciousness, but it 
will only be a living death at best. 
Put these powders between her lips, 
and if she moves or shows any signs 
of life send for me at once. If you 
do not send before tomorrow morn- 
ing, I will call anyway; and I will 
send some one to help you with her. 
Put her to bed and make her as com- 


As a Man Lives. 


103 


fortable as you can. It is all you 
can do.” 

Janet asked if there was any 
special cause for the stroke. 

“None,” said the doctor. “Her 
own physician wrote me that he 
thought it could not be prevented, 
but was anxious to try a warmer 
climate. This is her third attack, I 
believe. How long have you been 
with her, Miss Nomer?” 

“A little over six weeks,”' said 
Janet. 

“Well she will not require you for 
six weeks longer, I think. But no 
one can tell. I will call tomorrow 
if you do not send for me before.” 

They carried the invalid to bed 
and Janet watched by her side all 
night; in fact, night and day for 
four days, she only left her to get 
an hour’s sleep. At the end of the 
third day Mrs. Richardson moved 
her lips as if to speak, but no speech 
came, and on the sixth day she died. 

After the funeral Janet was obliged 
to leave. She had no excuse for 
remaining any longer. As she closed 


104 


As a Man Lives . 


the door behind her she thought : 
“ Friendless, and alone, where can 
I go?” 

For one instant she thought of 
returning to Chico. Then the remem- 
brance of her aunt’s bitter tongue 
made her shudder. Besides, she did 
not even know whether she would be 
welcome. 

She went to Los Angeles, bought 
a newspaper to find out where the 
employment offices were and tried 
them all without result, for the place 
was overrun with girls wanting 
places and all with good references. 

She was told that not having any 
one to whom she could refer was very 
much against her, and that she had 
better keep the story of “ nursing an 
invalid who had died,” to herself, 
as it was a common one and a very 
easy one to make up. But she might 
come again tomorrow, they told her, 
and many “tomorrows, ’’she returned, 
only to go away disappointed. 

She had rented a small room in one 
of the poorest parts of the city and was 
very careful not to waste a cent. 


As a Man Lives. 


105 


Her landlady was a sharp featured, 
tall, gaunt woman, and Janet did 
not like her but she reasoned with 
herself, “ She is honest and the 
room is cheap.” 

One morning Janet started early 
for a place about four miles from 
Los Angeles, in answer to an adver- 
tisement in the morning paper. She 
was unsuccessful, and returned feel- 
ing very down-hearted. When she 
reached the house of her landlady, 
she was astonished to see a large 
board with “ To Let ” on it. 

“What can it mean?” she thought, 
as she rang the bell which echoed 
through the house, plainly telling 
her it was empty. She rang the bell 
of the next house and was told the 
family had all left by steamer that 
afternoon, taking everything they 
owned with them. 

“And everything I owned too,” 
cried Janet in despair. 

“You look tired,” observed the 
woman. “ It’s late for the likes of 
you to be looking for a fresh place. 
You’d best come in and have a 


106 


As a Man Lives. 


little supper with my boys.” 

Janet thanked her, and not know- 
ing what else to do, accepted. After 
supper she asked the woman if she 
could not rent her a small room. 

“Yes, hut how am I to get paid 
for it?” said she. “You say you 
have lost everything.” 

Janet took a ring from her finger, 
and asked, “Will you accept this 
until I earn money enough to redeem 
it?” 

“Well, that would pay for the 
room for a time, but what about 
board, Miss?” 

“ Oh, I will not trouble you about 
board. I will look out for that some- 
where.” 

“Well, my dear,” said the woman, 
‘ ‘ I wish I was rich and then I would 
not be hard on you, but you see I 
have four hungry boys and three of 
them earning next to nothing. It 
puzzles my brain to know how to 
get food enough for them. I often 
go short myself so as they can get 
enough.” 


As a Man Lives. 


107 


“ Where is your husband?” asked 
Janet. 

“The Lord knows, Miss. He left 
me when my boys were all little, and 
I have never set eyes on him since. 
I’ve worked my fingers nearly to the 
bone, trying to keep starvation from 
the door.” 

“Ah, my friend,” said Janet, 
“yours is a worse case than mine. 
You have five to provide for, and I 
have only myself. You have given 
me courage, and I had almost lost 
heart today ! ” 

Janet had but ten cents left. The 
next day she spent five for a paper, 
tried again without success to find 
work, and went to bed hungry, with 
but five cents left. 

Mrs. Smith came to her door to ask 
her if she had had supper. Remem- 
bering the four hungry boys, Janet 
felt she could not take it from them, 
so she said she was tired and did not 
want any ; but she asked if either of 
the boys had brought home a paper. 

“No, dear,” said Mrs. Smith, 


108 


As a Man Lives. 


“ they’ve got no money to spend on 
papers.” 

“Then I must get one myself in 
the morning, ” said Janet. “Thank 
you for coming up.” 

She slept soundly, in spite of her 
hunger, and when she woke won- 
dered whether she should spend her 
last five cents for a cup of coffee or a 
newspaper. She chose the latter, 
saying to herself, 

“ If I get a place I shall soon have 
plenty to eat, but if I spend this for 
coffee, I may lose the last chance of 
getting employment.” 

She found an advertisement for a 
nurse girl, wanted at once. “Apply 
between 12 and 1 o’clock.” 

She went back to her room to wait, 
for she felt sure she should faint if she 
wandered about any longer. Feeling 
very weak, she went down stairs to 
ask her landlady for a piece of bread, 
fearing she would never get to the 
place indicated in the advertisement 
if she did not have something to eat. 
But that good woman was not in the 


As a Man Lives. 


109 


house. Janet was desperate. She 
went to the pantry, murmuring, 

“I will just take one little piece, 
and then I will give them all a good 
dinner with the first money I get.” 

Disappointment again. Not a bit 
of anything eatable could she find, 
only a few raw potatoes and a little 
cold tea. She drank a cup of tea, and 
then toiled wearily upstairs again. 

At twelve o’clock she presented 
herself at Mrs. Stewart’s, and after 
being questioned and cross-questioned 
until she was on the point of tears, 
she was told she could come a week 
on trial at ten dollars a month. 

“ May I remain now ? ” asked 
Janet. 

“Yes,” said Mrs. Stewart, and ring- 
ing the bell, she ordered the servant to 
show the new nurse-maid to the nur- 
sery. 

“Where is it?” asked Janet, as 
they left the room. 

“ At the top of the house,” said 
the girl. 

Janet climbed wearily, the stairs 
seeming to go round and round with 


110 


As a Man Lives . 


her. She held on tightly to the ban- 
ister to steady herself. The house- 
maid went tripping gaily up, and 
finding Janet was some distance 
behind, she turned at the top of the 
first flight, and said, “ You are pretty 
slow. Can’t you hurry a bit? ” 
Janet made a desperate effort to do 
as she was asked. 

“How much farther is it ” she 

began faintly, then suddenly fell in a 
heap in the corridor. 

“ Sakes alive!” cried the girl, 
“ what’s the matter ? ” 

She saw that Janet had fainted and 
ran down stairs to inform her mis- 
tress. “ Fainted ?” cried Mrs. Stew- 
art. * ‘ Perhaps it is a fever, or 
something contagious. See if you 
can see a policeman.” 

Janet was finally taken to the 
hospital. 

“What a mercy,” Mrs. Stewart 
remarked, “she did not go into the 
nursery ! There is no knowing what 
dreadful thing my darlings might 
have caught.” 

She did not think it necessary to 


As a Man Lives. 


Ill 


go and see Janet, or even enquire for 
her. In fact she never gave her 
another thought, but she watched 
the children for many days to see if 
they showed any signs of disease. 

Janet, meanwhile, was comfortably 
cared for at the hospital. The doc- 
tors knew at once the cause of her 
illness, and soon brought her back to 
consciousness, but she was very weak 
for many days . and seemed to make 
no effort to get well, and to have no 
care for anything. 

She was sitting up one day, propped 
with pillows, when she thought she 
heard a voice she knew. Turning to 
the nurse she asked, 

‘ ‘ Who is that young lady in the 
next room ? ” 

“I don’t know,” answered the 
nurse, “ she is a very sweet girl, a 
visitor to Los Angeles. She comes 
to the hospital every afternoon, to 
read to those who are well enough.” 

“Her voice is so like that of a 
friend of mine ! For a moment I 
thought it must be her, but of course 


112 As a Man Lives . 

it is only fancy, for she is in San 
Francisco.” 

“I thought you said you had no 
friends, Miss Nomer. Had you not 
better let them know where you are ?” 

“I said what was true, that I had 
no friends I could send to, and since 
I have been getting better, I have 
often wished I had died before return- 
ing to consciousness. Life is so 
hard ! Death would be easier.” 

“You cannot say that,” said the 
nurse, “you may have to begin your 
life all over again, in another world, 
and who knows what troubles might 
be there ? ’ ’ 

“What makes you think that ? ” 
asked Janet. “It is horrible!” 

“I didn’t say I thought so; but I 
know some people do. Would it not 
do you good, Miss Nomer, to talk to 
some one about your troubles ? It 
might help you to bear them better.” 

“No,” said Janet. “No one can 
help me. But do you think that 
those people who believe what you 
said about having to live our life all 
over again, would think that the sins 


As a Man Lives. 


113 


of the fathers in this life would be 
visited upon the children in the next?” 

“That is too deep for me; but I’ll 
tell you what I’ll do. I’ll ask that 
young lady to come and talk to you 
tomorrow. She knows a great deal 
more than I do. Now you must not 
talk any more. You look quite 
flushed and excited.” 

The next day Janet was not so well, 
and the second day she was still too 
weak to see anyone, but on the third 
day after her conversation with the 
nurse she was much better, and 
again sitting up in bed. The nurse 
came in during the afternoon, and 
said, 

“The young lady is in the next 
room, and would like to read to you, 
if you care for it, but mind, you 
must not talk. Wait until you are 
stronger.” 

Janet was in a ward, but had a bed 
in the farthest corner of the room, 
near the window; she was shut off 
from the others by a Japanese screen, 
which the nurse drew aside to admit 


114 


As a Man Lives . 


the visitor. The girls’ eyes met, and 
the nurse heard the cry, 

“ Janet !” 

“Belle?” 

Then they were clasped in each 
other’s arms. 

“I am so glad to have found you, 
dear Janet ! ’ * cried Belle. 1 ‘But I am 
not going to ask you anything now. 
In fact, you need never tell 
us, if you would rather not. 
I had strict orders not to let you talk, 
so I must read you something cheer- 
ful.” 

She read for half an hour, all the 
time holding Janet’s hand in hers. 
When she left she said, 

“ I shall come again tomorrow, 
and mama will want to see you. 
She and papa are both here. Oh, 
how glad they will be to hear the 
news!” 

Janet was overjoyed to meet her 
friend once more, and for a time 
could think of nothing but her good 
fortune in having been brought to the 
hospital; for she felt sure she would 
never have seen them otherwise. 


As a Man Lives. 


115 


But soon other thoughts came — 
less pleasant ones. She could not be 
deceitful, neither could she tell Belle 
the truth, and the only thing left to 
do, she thought, was to escape from 
the hospital before Belle came again. 
What about Mr. Curson, where was 
he, and had Belle found him out? 

She waited until the ward was quiet 
for the night, and then stole out of 
bed, and attempted to walk, but she 
was so weak that she drooped help- 
lessly, falling, fortunately, on the 
bed. She did not lose consciousness, 
but lay quiet, wondering whether 
they would send her back to her old 
land-lady the next day. Then she 
remembered that she had not a cent 
of money. 

“ I am actually in this hospital as 
a pauper,” she thought. “What can 
I do when I get well enough to be 
turned out? Starve?” And she 
burst into tears. 

The next morning she inquired 
of the nurse if there was another free 
hospital, explaining, “ I have reasons 


116 


As a Man Lives. 


for not wishing to remain here any 
longer.” 

“ You are ungrateful, Miss Nomer. 
Have we not done all we could for 
you? And you found a dear friend 
yesterday ! What can you be think- 
ing about?” 

“ Indeed I must seem ungrateful,” 
said poor Janet, ‘ ‘but there are reasons 
which I cannot explain.” 

“You must content yourself here 
a few more days, and then you will 
be well enough to go wherever you 
like,” was the reply. 

In the afternoon Mrs. St. John and 
Belle came to see her. They were 
very kind, and would not let her talk 
much. The former said, 

“I shall never ask you anything, 
Janet. You can tell me what you 
like, and nothing if you would rather 
not. We have very comfortable 
rooms, and this morning I secured 
a sunny, cheerful one for you, so 
directly they will let you be moved, 
I shall take you there, and you will 
soon get strong again. I saw the 


As a Man Lives. 


117 


doctor as we came up, and I think I 
shall go and ask him.” 

She soon returned, saying, 

“I may take you this afternoon, 
if I am very careful, and don’t let 
you excite yourself.” 

With the help of the nurse, Janet 
was soon dressed and carried to the 
carriage. The sun was setting as 
they left the hospital, and the golden 
glow seemed to permeate everything. 
The air was balmy, and even Janet 
rejoiced that she was permitted to 
live. She lay back in the carriage 
and thought how good these friends 
were to her, and mourned because she 
could never tell them why she had 
behaved so badly to them. 

Mr. St. John was waiting to receive 
them, and his manner to her was just 
as kind and courteous as it had always 
been. 

How Janet enjoyed those days of 
convalescence! Her room overlooked 
the waters, and the breeze that came 
through the window was salt and 
bracing. 


118 


As a Man Lives . 


The next day Mrs. St. John 
knocked on her door, saying, 

‘ * Do you feel like having a visitor ? ’ ’ 

“Yes,” said Janet, “I am only too 
glad! Why are you so kind to me, 
Mrs. St. John? If I were your own 
child you could not do more for me, 
and yet my conduct to you must seem 
despicable.” 

“I like you for yourself, Janet, 
and always shall. I dare say,” she 
added, “you wonder what has 
brought us here. The fact is, Belle 
has had a serious illness, and the 
doctors ordered a change at once, so 
we have started for England and 
shall go leisurely along. Mr. 
St. John is doing duty for a 
friend while we are here. I 
fancy when we reach England 
it will be to remain. The cousin Mr. 
St. John left his living to has died, 
and my husband has been asked to 
return to his old place. In any case 
we shall not live in San Francisco 
again, for Belle’s sake. But I must 
tell you the cause of her illness now, 
because we never mention it before 


As a Man Lives. 


119 


her. She has gone to the hospital 
to read to some of the patients, and 
we will just take advantage of her 
absence. Of course you have not 
heard of Mr. Curson's marriage, have 
you ? ” 

“Married!” gasped the invalid. 
“To Belle?” 

“No.” 

“ Thank God ! ” cried Janet. 

“He married Stella Ramona,” said 
Mrs. St. John, remembering that she 
must not excite Janet. “ But why 
are you so glad that he did not marry 
Belle?” 

The tears came into Janet’s eyes, 
and taking Mrs. St. John’s hand in 
hers, she said, 

“He was the cause of all my 
trouble ; and now I can tell you 
everything.” And she did. 

“My poor girl !” said Mrs. St. 
John, clasping Janet in her arms. 
“ How much you have suffered ! And 
all alone too. How good and loyal 
you were to Belle ! I’m afraid Belle 
must hear his name again, to clear 
you in her eyes. He was a villain ! ” 


120 


As a Man Lives . 


she added. “He actually came to 
see Belle after he was married, and 
never said anything about it. In fact 
the notice did not come out for quite 
a while after they were married.” 

From that day Janet threw aside 
medicine, and began to get strong 
and like herself once more. One day 
Mr. St. John said to her, 

“My dear, I must communicate 
with your friends in Chico. I prom- 
ised to do so as soon as we found you 
but I have waited until you were 
stronger.” 

Janet looked somewhat crestfallen, 
and said, 

“Must I go back to them when I 
leave here ? ” 

“ Not unless you wish to, for you 
are not related to them ; they have no 
claim on you.” 

“Not related ? ” 

“No, but I must not anticipate. 
Mr. Henshaw has some business to 
transact with you, but he will tell you 
himself all about it. I will telegraph 
him tomorrow.” 

Mr. Henshaw started immedi- 


As a Man Lives. 


121 


ately upon receiving the dispatch, 
and was in Los Angeles very soon. 

He greeted Janet warmly, and she 
was glad to see him, now that she no 
longer feared having to return to his 
wife and home. 

He handed her the sealed package, 
and eight hundred dollars, saying 
that it had been left over from what 
her father gave into his keeping for 
her. 

“ Please tell me about my parents, ” 
said Janet. “I know so little.” 

He answered all her questions, 
speaking gently of poor Jack, as he 
called him, and then she opened the 
package. 

It contained some pieces of jewelry, 
her mother’s marriage certificate, 
the certificate of her birth, and a 
long letter written by her father. He 
told her in this letter who her people 
were, and Janet felt her cheeks tingle 
as she read. From “Henshaw’s 
niece ’ 1 to the titled aristocracy of 
England is a long way. 

“Why,” she cried, “papa would 
have been Lord Hamilton if he had 


122 


As a Man Lives . 


lived. I wonder if my grandfather 
is still alive ? And I wonder if I shall 
ever see and know my kin ? ” 

“I always knew there was blue 
blood in Jack Stanton,” replied his 
faithful friend. “ Well, my dear, I 
congratulate you with all my heart.” 

“ Janet,” said Mrs. St. John, “you 
are able now to meet the expense, 
you’d better go to England with us.” 

“ I came down to offer Janet a 
home,” said Mr. Henshaw, “and 
she is always welcome to it, but I 
think she’d better go to England with 
you. Though I shall be sorry to lose 
you for good, Janet.” 

“You were always kind to me, 
Uncle, and w’herever I go I shall 
always remember you, but I think I 
will go to England with Mr. and Mrs. 
St. John since they so kindly invite 
me. I will try my luck with my 
real relations.” 

“Yes,” said Mr. Henshaw meekly, 
“ I hope they will be kinder to you 
than your imitation ones were.” 

“You were always kind to me,” 


As a Man Lives. 


123 


repeated Janet gently, and with the 
proper emphasis. 

Mr. Henshaw returned to Chico, 
and the others soon began to make 
preparations for their journey. 

Janet went to her late lodgings, 
redeemed her ring, paid Mrs. Smith 
liberally, and then took her and the 
four boys and treated them all to 
a good dinner. She then went to the 
hospital, paid for the time she was 
there, and made her nurse a hand- 
some present. 

“Did you ever get that question 
answered, MissNomer?” asked the 
■white-capped little lady. 

“ No,” said Janet, “I am not in a 
hurry to hear the answer now. Suf- 
ficient unto the day is the evil thereof, 
you know. The world looks so much 
brighter to me now ! ” 

“ I should like to have said good- 
bye to Gladys and Mr. Farnam before 
I go,” said Janet to Belle, “ but I 
will write to her.” 

“ How is the ‘ Helping Hand ’ pro- 
gressing ? ” 


124 


As a Man Lives . 


“ Finely ; it is three times as large 
as when you saw it last.” 

“Mr. Farnam did a noble thing in 
enlarging that house of Miss Wise’s,” 
said Janet. 

“And he and Gladys give so much 
time to it ! ” said Belle. 

“Dear Gladys, she has such a 
sweet sunny nature ! She deserves all 
good fortune that comes to her.” 

“ Indeed she does,” said Belle with 
equal earnestness. 


CHAPTER X. 


The leaves were just beginning to 
sprout green on the bough, the birds 
were singing and all nature was glad 
that the winter was past and spring 
was come again. It was spring in 
English lanes and meadows for Janet 
and Belle. 

Wakefield Park in Surrey, the 
country seat of Lord Hamilton, was 
particularly attractive at this season. 
The chestnuts were in full bloom, 
the beeches in their gayest dress, and 
the young fawns, of which there was 
quite a herd, were frisking around 
their mothers. 

Spring was earlier here than in 
most places in England. Perhaps 
because it was so sheltered from the 
winds. At any rate after driving 
along the country roads you are 
struck by the difference as soon as 
you enter the park gates. 

Outside everything breathed of 
youth and brightness. Inside the 

125 


126 


As a Man Lives. 


great mansion everything spoke of 
antiquity and former elegance. 

The only occupant, excepting the 
servants, was Lady Hamilton, a grand 
old woman of nearly eighty years. 
Seated in her carved oaken chair, 
one would not take her to be more 
than sixty. Her hair was snow 
white, contrasting well with the 
delicate pink of her cheeks and her 
dark brown eyes. She was tall and had 
great dignity, and it was only when 
she arose that one noticed her bowed 
form. 

This morning in spring she was 
closeted with her lawyer, Mr. Crew. 

“Are you really decided to make 
your will, my lady?” he asked. 

“Yes, Mr. Crew; I have given up 
all hope of ever seeing my son again. 
He must have died many years ago, 
or he would have communicated with 
his mother long before now, I am sure.” 

“And his wife?” asked the lawyer. 
“ I fear she is dead also. It was a 
sad, strange thing, their mysterious 
disappearance. She w T as a sweet 
woman and my boy was a generous. 


As a Man Lives. 


m 


warm-hearted fellow. Those were 
his good qualities, but he had so 
many bad ones ! It was all my fault. 
He was my only boy and I spoiled 
him. Now I suffer for my folly.” 

1 1 Was there not a child?” asked 
Mr. Crew. 

“Yes, a little girl about two years 
old. Her name was Janet.” 

“ The child may be living even if 
the parents are dead.” 

“ Yes, I have thought of that. 
She would be nineteen or twenty 
years old now. I must make some 
provision for her if she is ever found.” 

“When does Lord Hamilton 
return, my lady?” 

“ I believe he is in England now. 
I shall leave Wakefield Park to him 
at the end of the year.” 

“ Is it his wish?” 

“ No, but his father and my hus- 
band were enemies and I could not 
accept a favor at his hands. The 
Park is his and when he is ready to 
receive it I shall go away.” 

“ You will go to Wiltshire, I under- 
stand?” 


128 


As a Man Lives. 


“Yes, my husband purchased a 
small place for me known as Beech- 
wood. It is very pretty and quiet, but 
I 6hall not need it long. If my grand- 
child is ever found she may like to 
make it her country residence. That 
is why I sent for you, Mr. Crew. I 
wish to leave it to her, and if she or 
her heir is not found in fifty years, 
I wish it to be sold and the proceeds 
distributed among the poor.” 

‘ ‘ It shall be done as you wish, my 
lady.” 

The present Lord Hamilton’s father 
was cousin to Lady Hamilton’s 
husband. As Jack Stanton could 
not be found he was supposed to be 
dead, and as the present Lord Ham- 
ilton’s father died before Jack’s 
father, the title and estates passed 
to the present Lord Hamilton. 

After the lawyer had gone, Lady 
Hamilton felt easier in mind than 
she had for a long time. She had 
provided for her unknown grand- 
child by leaving her all the money 
and real estate in her possession to 
dispose of. 


As a Man Lives. 


129 


She had felt very lonely since her 
husband’s death, and time did not 
soften her sorrow much. She came 
of a long-lived race, or the troubles 
she had passed through would have 
worn her out long before the telling of 
our story. 

She was sitting in her morning- 
room one sunny day in spring when 
the footman brought in a card say- 
ing, “Mrs. St. John wishes to speak 
to you on important business.” 

“ Show her in, Wilson. I suppose 
she has come about some charity. I 
do not recognize the name.” 

Mrs. St. John advanced slowly, 
saying with her gentle smile, “ How 
forward and lovely your park looks, 
Lady Hamilton !” 

“People generally say that. 1 
seldom go beyond the grounds now, 
so I cannot compare my place with 
others. I am a lonely old woman.” 

“Have you no children?” asked 
the gentle little lady. 

* * I never had but one, and he is 
dead, I fear.” 

“It is about that boy, my dear 


130 


As a Man Lives. 


Lady Hamilton, that I have come to 
speak to you.” 

“ Is he alive? My hoy! Ah, no, 
I dare not hope for that.” 

“ No, madam, he is dead. He died 
six years ago, but he left a daughter 
to comfort you.” 

“ And she is alive?” 

“Yes, and she is in England 
waiting to come to you.” 

“ Little Janet?” 

“ Yes, madam.” 

“Oh, this seems too strange and 
too good to he true ! I can scarcely 
believe it.” 

“I can prove her claims beyond a 
shadow of doubt,” said Mrs. St. 
John. “Here is her mother’s mar- 
riage certificate, the certificate of 
her birth, some jewels which you may 
recognize, and a letter written by 
her father. You will know the writ- 
ing doubtless.” 

“Yes, but my dear lady, the 
Tichbourne claimant proved all 
this and was an impostor in the end.” 

“Perhaps if you should see Janet, 


As a Man Lives. 


131 


you would recognize a likeness to 
your son, or her mother.’’ 

“Yes,” said Lady Hamilton. “I 
could do that. Where is the child!” 

“ She is in the carriage, my lady. 
Shall I bring her in?” 

Mrs. St. John left the room, and 
soon returned with Janet, who bowed 
timidly and would have remained 
standing some distance away, but 
Lady Hamilton called her, saying, 

“ Come close to me, my dear. I 
want to see whether you have Jack’s 
eyes. They were dark brown like 
my own. His wife’s were blue.” 

Janet came and knelt in front of 
her grandmother, and the old lady 
took her face between her two hands, 
and looked long and earnestly. At 
last she said, 

“You are indeed Jack’s child! 
Thank God ! I have found you, my 
little Janet!” 

She clasped Janet in her feeble 
arms, and they wept together, think- 
ing of the dead. Then Lady Hamilton 
asked anxiously, 

“And whose disposition and 


132 As a Man Lives. 

character have you got, my dear? 
Father’s or mother’s?” 

“ They say I am like my mother, 
except in face and form.” 

‘Thank God for this too,” mur- 
mured the ill-used mother. “Your 
mother was a good woman. You 
certainly look like your father. I 
am a foolish old woman ! Perhaps I 
am easily persuaded to believe what 
I wish to be true. I must send for 
my lawyer and ask for his advice. 
Will you ladies come for dinner 
to-night, and meet him? We dine at 
eight o’clock.” 

“With pleasure, Lady Hamilton,” 
said Mrs. St. John. 

Mr. Crew stayed after Mrs. St. 
John and Janet had left that night, 
to talk to Lady Hamilton. 

“There cannot be the slightest 
doubt,” said he. “Mrs. St. John is the 
wife of a clergyman, and beyond 
suspicion. I congratulate you, my 
lady, on having such a lovely grand- 
child. She has the manner of a lady, 
although she has lived all her life in 
America. I am quite charmed with 


As a Man Lives. 


183 


her. So dignified, gentle and atten- 
tive ! She will make your old age 
happy. Now you have something to 
live for.” 

“ It seems too good to be true, even 
now,” said the lady. “I shall be so 
happy ! I shall go myself to-morrow 
and bring her home.” 


CHAPTER XI. 


“ Well, Janet,” said Mrs. St. John 
when they reached the hotel, “how 
do you like your grandmother? I 
think she is the loveliest old lady I 
have ever seen.” 

“So do I,” said Janet softly. “ I 
hope I can make her happy. And 
what a grand old place that is, Mrs. 
St. John. Are there many like it in 
England?” 

“Any number, my dear. But I 
don’t think there are many grander 
— or older, except those in ruins.” 

The next morning, very early for 
one so old, Lady Hamilton c^me in 
state to carry Janet home, insisting 
that Mrs. St. John should accompany 
her. 

“ And telegraph for your husband 
to come. I can never be grateful 
enough to you both for restoring to 
me my only grandchild. I want to 
thank him personally. Have you no 
children, Mrs. St. John?” 


134 


As a Man Lives. 


135 


“Yes, Lady Hamilton, my daugh- 
ter Belle, who is with her father now. 
She and Janet were schoolfellows, and 
have always been warm friends.” 

“I shall be delighted to welcome 
her, and shall expect them as soon as it 
is possible for them to arrive.” 

These were happy days for Janet. 
It pleased her greatly to be able to 
return some of the kindness the St. 
Johns had shown her, when she most 
needed it, and she was never tired of 
doing all in her power to make their 
visit a pleasant one. 

Mr. St. John was anxious to return 
to his parish in Gloucestershire, now 
that he had made up his mind to do 
so. After spending a week at Wake- 
field Park, he and Mrs. St. John took 
their departure, leaving Belle, at 
Lady Hamilton’s request, to remain 
for an indefinite time, that Janet 
might not be lonely. Janet knew 
that her first duty was to her grand- 
mother, so she gave her much of her 
time reading, singing, playing, or 
telling her the story of her life in 
California. Lady Hamilton was 


136 


As a Man Lives. 


never tired of listening to this story, 
which seemed wonderful to her. She 
was not selfish, however, realizing 
that Janet was young and did not 
want to shut herself up entirely with 
an old woman. She insisted on the 
girls taking proper recreation. They 
loved to wander over the grounds. 
One day they found the picture gal- 
lery, and very soon Janet came 
running to her grandmother, saying, 

“I believe I have found papa’s and 
mama’s portraits. Is that little baby 
intended for me?” 

“ Yes, my dear. They were taken 
the year before you all went to Amer- 
ica. Do you remember your father?” 

“ Certainly I do. Why I was 
twelve years old when he died.” 

She had never told her grandmother 
the manner of his death, and was fully 
determined never to let her know, as 
it would grieve her and profit no one. 

As soon as it became known in the 
neighborhood that Lady Hamilton’s 
grandaughter had been found and 
returned to her, friends came from 
far and wide to call. Some came out 


As a Man Lives. 


137 


of curiosity, some because they 
remembered her mother or father, and 
others from kindness and considera- 
tion for Lady Hamilton. 

Janet was invited out to dinners 
and teas and to pleasant garden par- 
ties. At the dinners old gentlemen 
would ask her all sorts of questions 
about California. 

“How much wheat do they grow 
to the acre?” “ What kind of cattle 
do they breed?” “ What are horses 
worth out there?” Poor Janet knew 
nothing of agriculture, and many of 
her questioners put her down for an 
empty-headed girl of society. If they 
had asked her about mining she could 
have answered intelligently. 

She was at a very stiff tea one 
afternoon when an elderly maiden 
cornered her saying, 

“Come and tell me all about 
California, my dear. Is it true that a 
lady cannot walk down the San Fran- 
cisco streets ? ” 

“Yes,” said wicked Janet. “ They 
never walk, they always ride.” 


138 


As a Man Lives. 


“But I meant, was it safe, my 
dear ? ” 

“Oh, yes, provided you have a 
tomahawk and bowie knife attached 
to your belt.” 

“ How dreadful ! ” said Miss Buck- 
ram ; “ have you got yours with you?’’ 

“ No,” said Janet good-humoredly, 
“ I did not think I should need them 
here, shall I ? ” 

“Dear me, no ! ” said the lady; 
“but, are the Indians always dressed 
in war-paint and feathers ? ” 

“Almost always, when you meet 
them in San Francisco.” 

This was strictly true. Her true 
stories of life in the Golden State 
were so wonderful, and so generally 
doubted, that it was only natural for 
her to enlarge upon them a little 
and play upon the queer ideas of her 
puzzled listeners. 

Lady Barry, an old friend of Lady 
Hamilton, took a great interest in 
Janet from the first, and having no 
daughters of her own insisted on 
taking her to London for the season. 
Her grandmother reluctantly gave 


As a Man Lives. 


139 


her consent. She had grown so fond 
of Janet that she hated to part with 
her, but she said, 

“I will not stand in the way of 
the child’s happiness, and if you 
think it is right for her to go, why 
take her, Lady Barry.” 

Janet protested, saying, 

“It is not right for me to leave 
grandmama, and I would rather not 
go.” 

However, in the end, Lady Barry 
had her way, and they went. 
Just about this time Belle returned 
to her parents, so Lady Hamilton was 
left alone. 

Lady Barry’s town house was in 
Kensington close to Kensington Pal- 
ace. It was magnificent, and they 
had everything money could buy, 
horses, carriages, pictures, and a 
large retinue of servants. 

Lady Barry was a handsome woman 
of about forty-five, very fond of 
society, and she foresaw lots of gaye- 
ty for herself in chaperoning Janet, 
for she thought the girl would be 
much admired. She was right; 


140 


As a Man Lives. 


Janet was not as thin and spiritless 
as she had been in California, and 
was really a beautiful girl, always 
simply but elegantly dressed. She 
rode finely in the Western style, and 
always had escorts for her morning 
rides in the park. Her music was 
also very much praised, and she was 
always the first to be asked to play 
or sing. She soon had any number 
of admirers, and Lady Barry was 
surprised that she appeared to care 
no more for one than another, but 
treated them all alike. 

Young Lord Temple, Lady Barry’s 
nephew, was constant in his atten- 
tions. He sent Janet flowers every 
day, rode with her, walked with her, 
made boating-parties for her and 
always listened, entranced, to her 
singing. 

Janet had no suspicion that he had 
more than friendly thoughts for her, 
until one day, when they were return- 
ing from Hurlingham, Janet expressed 
a wish to go into Westminster Abbey 
for a few minutes to see the interior 
in the evening. 


As a Man Lives. 


141 


Lady Barry gave her permission to 
go, but remained in the carriage. 
They strayed into the North Tran- 
sept, and Janet was standing in front 
of Bullers’s monument when Lord 
Temple said, 

“My college chum, and chief est 
friend, is going to take a wife in 
June, and he wants me to be married 
on the same day. A double wedding, 
you know.” 

“ You surprise me, I didn’t know 
you were engaged,” said Janet, candid 
and unsuspecting. “ Shall you com- 
ply with his wish ? ” 

“ If you are willing, Janet.” 

“ What difference can my willing- 
ness make, Lord Temple ? ” 

Janet looked as haughty as an 
empress; (or an American servant 
girl !) 

“ Please don’t call me Lord Temple. 
You must have seen, Janet, that I 
love you. I have tried to show 
you my devotion in every way in my 
power and to win your favor.” 

‘ ‘ My dear Lord Temple, I had no 
idea of such a possibility ; you have 


142 


As a Man Lives. 


not known me a month yet. I am so 
sorry, if indeed you are in earnest, 
for I can never marry you.” 

“ Are you engaged to some one in 
California ? Is that what makes you 
so cold and indifferent ? ” 

“No,” said Janet, “I am not 
engaged to anyone, and have almost 
made up my mind never to marry. 
Let us return to Lady Barry, she will 
wonder what is keeping us.” 

They were both so quiet on their 
return home that Lady Barry slyly 
teased them about “lovers’ quarrels.” 
This caused them to maintain a still 
more perfect silence. The drive was 
an unpleasant one for all concerned. 

For two or three days Janet did not 
see Lord Temple, and then he was 
more kindly attentive than ever. One 
day he said to her laughingly, 

“ It will be the object of my life to 
win you, Janet, so you might as well 
yield now. I could make you very 
happy if you would give me the right 
and privilege.” 

“Dear Lord Temple,” said Janet 
distressed, “please give up your wild 


As a Man Lives. 


143 


idea. My answer was final. You 
will only make life unhappy for us 
both, if you persist in your atten- 
tions.” 

“I shall not surrender you without 
a struggle, Janet,” he answered 
firmly. “A woman’s ‘no’ often 
changes to ‘ yes. ’ ” 

•‘You are a stubborn man,” said 
Janet, laughing. “ I can only warn 
you that you waste your time.” 

Lady Barry came into her room 
one morning, saying, 

“Have you heard of ‘Sigma,’ 
Janet? All London is raving about 
him.” 

“ What is he?” asked Janet. “A 
new poet or a trained monkey?” 

“Nonsense Janet! He is a little 
lame boy with a marvelous voice ; I 
have tickets for to-night. We must 
go for a short time before Mrs. Vane’s 
ball.” 

“With pleasure,” said Janet. “I 
love good music and I love a' child’s 
voice.” 

Lord Temple called in the evening 


144 


As a Man Lives. 


and asked permission to escort the 
ladies to the concert. 

As soon as Sigma made his appear- 
ance, Janet fairly screamed with 
delight and surprise, 

* 1 Why, it is Reggie ! ” 

“ What do you mean?” said Lady 
Barry, a little severely. “I thought 
you were suddenly ill.” 

“ Pardon me, Lady Barry, Sigma is 
an old friend of mine, a little cripple 
from California. I must see him. Can 
you find out where he is living for 
me, Lord Temple?” 

“ Certainly, Miss Stanton. Tell 
me, do all beautiful things come 
from California?” 

“You are incorrigible!” cried 
Janet, laughing. “ His voice is 
indeed marvelous, but what a shame 
to ask for so many encores ! He looks 
so delicate still.” 

“He is very delicate, ” said Lady 
Barry. “ But the lady who is with 
him takes such good care of him he 
will not come to any harm, at least 
if she can help it.” 

“Indeed he will not,” 


said 


Asa Man Lives. 145 

Janet. “ She was my school mistress 
in the old days, and a better or more 
unselfish woman never lived. I must 
go and see them to-morrow.” 

Sigma at last saw Janet and knew 
his old friend. When the flowers 
fell in a brilliant shower at his feet, 
he picked up a bunch of forget-me- 
nots she had taken from her 
dress and thrown him, and smiled. 

The house applauded wildly and 
just then Lord Barry came to take 
them home. 

He was a well-made man of fifty, 
with a fine face a little spoiled by a 
settled expression of irritability, due 
doubtless to the state of his liver. 
His eyes were good tempered; his 
mouth was not. It turned down too 
much at the corners. Nature meant 
him for a good-natured man, but 
rich dinners had interfered with her 
wise intentions. 

He and Lady Barry had been very 
much in love with each other when 
they were married, but that was 
many years before. Now they often 
wondered how they ever could have 


146 


As a Man Lives. 


been so foolishly devoted. Still they 
had a deep regard for each other, 
and never quarreled except in pri- 
vate. They had entirely different 
tastes and pursuits. Lady Barry 
was fond of society: he hated it. 
He loved racing, deer stalking, 
salmon fishing, shooting and fox- 
hunting. He spent all his time in 
pursuing these pleasures, except two 
weeks during the London season, 
which Lady Barry claimed, that the 
world might see them together, and 
apparently on good terms. He was 
bored to death the whole time he 
was there, and to tell the truth Lady 
Barry was not at all sorry when the 
two weeks had expired. 

The season was drawing to a close 
and Lady Barry was quite disappoint- 
ed that Janet had not announced her 
engagement to one of her numerous 
admirers. 

She entered the girl’s room one 
morning and found her writing let- 
ters. She stole up behind her and 
said, “ This is not kind of you, Janet, 


As a Man Lives. 


147 


to communicate the news to others 
when you have not told me.” 

“ What news, Lady Barry?” 

“The news of your engagement, 
of course. Come, now, it’s no use 
trying to conceal the truth. Confess ! 
you are engaged to Lord Temple, are 
you not?” 

“No,' Lady Barry, I am not 
engaged to any one. Must a girl 
always get engaged during her first 
season?” 

“Must’ is a strong word, Janet. 
You know an English girl is free to 
use her own will in the matter. But 
any girl with half your chances 
would have been engaged before now. 
Why you might have had your choice 
of a dozen. You can’t dislike them 
all!” 

“Do women marry when they have 
no personal dislike for a man? , Are 
there no stronger ties necessary?” 

“My dear Janet, very few marry 
for what the world calls love, nowa- 
days. Wealth or a good position 
is oftener the object to be, sought. 
And when they do marry for love, 


148 


As a Man Lives. 


how long does it last? I was as much 
in love with Lord Barry as any 
woman could be with a man, and how 
long did it last? Believe me, it 
is better to be good comrades from 
the first and never expect anything 
more.” 

“ Then I most certainly will never 
marry,” said Janet. “But why 
should love always weaken if lovers 
try to keep it alive?” 

“I don’t know, dear, but it does. 
Look over your circle of acquain- 
tances and tell me how many, after 
ten years of married life, are really 
still in love with each other.” 

“Well,” said Janet, “people do 
not always proclaim their love to the 
world. They become less demonstra- 
tive naturally enough after the first 
few years of marriage, but that is no 
sign they have lost their love for each 
other.” 

“ My dear girl, keep your belief, 
and I only hope that you may never 
have it shaken or disproven.” 

Miss ;Wise and Reggie were 
delighted to see Janet, and she spent 


./4s a Man Lives. 


149 


the greater part of the day with 
them. After talking a little while 
Reggie went to lie down, and Miss 
Wise said, “How do you think he 
looks, Janet?” 

“Not more delicate than he used 
to, but don’t you think the work too 
hard for him?” 

“On the contrary, he would not 
have lived until now, if his 
voice had not been discovered. He 
grieved so much that he was so use- 
less and helpless. It made him very 
unhappy. But now his little face is 
radiant with happiness, and it gives 
me comfort to see him so. I dread 
to think that some day, in spite of 
all my efforts to save him, he will 
slip away from me. I sometimes 
think that day is not far distant. 
He is my life, my joy! What shall 
I do when he is gone?” 

“Don’t think of it, Miss Wise, 
You have him at present. Do not 
anticipate trouble.” 

“When he was so sick in Califor- 
nia, I never thought this happiness 
was in store for him. But tell me 
about your own fairy story, dear 
Janet. I have not heard half enough.” 


CHAPTER XII. 


When Janet returned to Lady 
Barry’s, it was to find that Lord Barry 
was seriously ill and his wife had 
been telegraphed for. The servants 
were busy with preparations for 
departure. Janet was not sorry to 
leave London and hoped to go with- 
out again seeing Lord Temple, but 
she was disappointed. In the eve- 
ning he called, and finding that she 
was about to leave, asked permission 
to call on her at Wakefield Park. 

“I would much rather you did 
not,” said Janet, frankly. 

“But you would not refuse to see 
me?” he asked. 

“Certainly,” answered the cruel 
maid. “Unless you come as any 
friend comes and expect no more 
than the courtesy any friend receives.” 

“Janet, I love you; why won’t you 
be reasonable and love me in return 
and tell me so?” 

“Because I do not. Why will 

150 


As a Man Lives. 


151 


you persist when there are scores 
of girls who would be more suitable — ’ * 

“And more willing. But they 
are title-hunters, Janet, and I’m too 
spry a bird to be caught in their 
traps. I want you.” 

“Lord Temple,” said Janet, weary 
of the subject, “I am very tired, 
will you please excuse me for to- 
night?” 

She crossed the room slowly and said 
“Good-bye” at the door. The 
young man ran after her, crying des- 
perately, “Janet, you must hear me!” 
but she w~as gone, and he stood alone 
in the hall. 

The next day they left London, 
Janet returning to Wakefield Park 
and Lady Barry to her husband, 
whom she found slightly better. 

Janet was glad to be at home, and 
said, “I will never leave you again 
for so long a time, grandmama. I 
was not a bit happy in London. I 
do not like the life, and I never 
want to spend another season there. 
Most of the men one meets either 


152 As a Man Lives. 

can not talk sense or think a girl 
can not.” 

“ My dear, I thought you were a 
success and getting plenty of admi- 
ration, and proposals too. That 
is what Lady Barry wrote me.” 

“ Yes, grandmama, but if I found 
the men so tiresome for a short time, 
how could I live a whole life with 
one of them. It would be impossi- 
ble for me to marry a society man.” 

“Well, dear, you are not obliged 
to marry, and perhaps you will be 
happier single. We shall be very happy 
at Wakefield Park, Janet. Just you 
and I together. You are a good 
child to give up your life to an old 
woman. It will not be for long, 
Janet. I am eighty-one years old. Few 
people live much longer. And I am 
happier than I ever hoped to be.” 


CHAPTER XIII. 


About a month after this, Janet 
was returning from church, dallying 
by the wayside, “ For it was all in the 
pleasant weather, ” when she heard 
some one call her name. 

She turned, astonished, for the 
voice was familiar. In a moment 
she was shaking hands with Mr. 
Duncan. 

“ Excuse me for calling so loudly, 
but I was so glad to see you that I 
could not let you escape.” 

“Mr. Duncan, I am surprised to 
see you, and how does it happen?” 

“I live near here, Miss Stanton. 
But what brought you here, may I 
ask?” 

“ My home,” said Janet. “ I live 
near here too, at Wakefield Park. ” 

“ At Wakefield Park !” Mr. Dun- 
can echoed in surprise. 

“ Yes,” said Janet, simply. “My 
father was Lady Hamilton’s son. 


153 


154 


As a Man Lives. 


When I discovered this I came home 
to England.” 

“Then we are neighbors, Miss 
Stanton. I returned only last eve- 
ning, so had not heard the news. I 
am very glad to meet you again. 
May I walk home with you?” His 
face beamed with joy and Janet 
looked bright and happy. 

“Yes, do walk home with me,” 
she answered him. “ I want to hear 
all about California friends.” 

“ Oh, I have not been in Califor- 
nia since you were there; but I shal 
have to go again in the summer.” 

“ Do you know that the St. Johns 
are living near us?” 

“Really? How strange! How can 
Mr. St. John content himself in 
England, away from his charge? 
But perhaps he has retired from the 
Church.” 

“On the contrary,” said Janet. 
“He has his old living again and 
seems perfectly happy in it. He 
spends most of his time in study, 
keeps a curate, and Mrs. St. John 


As a Man Lives. 


155 


and Belle take care of his parish for 
him.” 

“Miss St. John is not married 
then?” 

“No,” said Janet. “Have you 
not heard?” She told him the story 
of Cursons villainy — a portion of it. 

“May I call this evening?” he 
asked as they parted. 

“ Certainly you may,” said Janet, 
smiling. “ You are the earliest friend 
I know, Mr. Duncan.” 

He soon became a constant visitor 
and cheered many an hour for Janet, 
■who was faithful in her attendance 
on her grandmother. Lady Hamilton 
was now confined to her bed, and 
daily growing weaker. Her mind 
frequently wandered and she lived 
entirely in the past, with her boy. 
Six months after Janet’s return from 
London, her grandmother died, leav- 
ing all she possessed to her grand- 
daughter, Janet Stanton. 

After the funeral Janet went to the 
St. Johns, the dear friends who had 
been so kind to her through all her 
troubles. 


156 


As a Man Lives. 


“You have always brought happi- 
ness out of sorrow for me,” she said 
to them gratefully. 

“And I hope we shall do so this 
time, my dear,” said Mrs. St. John. 

The days were peaceful, and Janet 
soon became interested in playing 
Lady Bountiful to Belle’s beloved 
poor. She was returning from a visit 
to one of them upon a sunny Autumn 
day when Mr. Duncan met her. 

He looked so serious that Janet 
asked him what had happened. 

“Nothing,” said he smiling, “ but 
I would like to speak to you if I 
may.” 

They went into the Rectory garden, 
and strolled along under the drooping, 
purple beach trees. Janet’s head 
was drooping too, and her heart was 
beating fast, for she knew what was 
to come. Mr. Duncan walked beside 
her, a tall fair man, with dark blue 
eyes, and yellow hair, a light mous- 
tache curled above a firm mouth and 
chin. Altogether he was a fine speci- 
men of fair clean English manhood. 

He had a high, sweet voice, and a 


As a Man Lives. 


157 


deliberate manner of speaking, which 
gave earnestness and sincerity to his 
words. 

“ I hope you will forgive me, Janet, 
for coming to you so soon after Lady 
Hamilton’s death, but I missed you 
so much after you left the Park.” 

“Has the young Lord taken pos- 
session yet ? ” asked Janet, with a 
maiden's effort to ward off the fateful 
question. 

“No,” he replied with rather a 
peculiar intonation, “ he has not 
taken possession yet. But Janet, I 
cannot wait any longer before learn- 
ing my fate.” He took her hands, 
and looking in her face, said, “Janet, 
you know what I would say. You 
must have known it long ago. I love 
you fondly and truly. I have loved 
you since the first day I saw you. 
Do you remember ? In a canon in Cal- 
ifornia ? You were crying then, Janet. 
But if you will let me take care of 
you, I will try to guard you from 
every trouble in the future. Janet, 
will you be my wife ? ” 

“You were always good to me! 


158 


As a Man Lives. 


But how could you love me, if you 
knew my father’s life ?” 

“ I did, Janet, and I longed to take 
you from the Henshaws, and would 
have asked you to be mine, then, had 
you not so suddenly disappeared, 
first to San Francisco, and then faded 
clear out of sight.” 

“And when I was not found, and 
people began to mistrust me, did you 
never doubt ? ” 

“Never, my darling, never.” 

“I believe you,” said Janet; “but 
let me tell you all of my life that you 
do not know ; your mind may be 
changed in the matter.” 

He listened, holding her hands, 
until the sad story was finished. Then 
drawing her softly into his arms, he 
whispered, 

“My dear girl ! Who would not be 
proud of so brave a wife?” 

After a moment, he said with a 
smile, 

“I have a confession to make too, 
Janet; perhaps after I tell you who I 
am, you will not give me the right 
to care for you.” 


As a Man Lives. 


159 


“ Are you not Malcolm Duncan ?” 
asked Janet. Then she added trust- 
fully, “But I don’t care who you 
are, I love you for your very self!” 

“You tempt me, Janet!” he cried, 
laughing. “Yes, I am Malcolm 
Duncan, and since my father’s death, 
Lord Hamilton. I knew you, my 
sweet cousin, out there in the Cali- 
fornia wilds, where I happened to 
stumble on traces of the only man 
who stood between my father and 
his title. You forgive me? Yes? 
Well, then I have waited long and 
patiently, Janet. You owe me a kiss ! ” 
The St. Johns were delighted 
when they were told the news. 
They declared that two people could 
not be better suited to each other. 

In a month they were married, 
and it was a very quiet wedding, 
Lord and Lady Hamilton leaving 
directly after the breakfast for a 
trip on the continent. 

Malcolm shared with Janet the pleas- 
ure she found in all the places they 
visited. She was charmed with 
Lucerne, interested in Rome and Pom- 


As a Man Lives, 


160 

peii, fascinated with the ruins of 
the old castles in Germany. 

At Monte Carlo they were watch- 
ing the games, when suddenly Janet 
cried like one in distress, 

“ Take me away from this dread- 
ful place, Macolm ! Look at that man! 
I remember that look on my father’s 
face, and I never want to see it 
again as long as I live. How can 
they do it? It is horrible! Please 
take me away.” 

They traveled just as their fancy 
4ictated and Janet was bright with 
happiness. She was a beautiful 
woman and Malcolm was justly proud 
of the admiration she excited. 

In Paris they again heard Sigma. 
He was making more of a sensation 
there than he made in London even. 
His voice was said to be divine, and 
truly there did not seem to be anything 
earthly about it. Janet was glad to 
hear from Miss Wise, that he was a 
little stronger, and that both he and 
his aunt were happy and contented. 

Janet and Malcolm remained in 


As a Man Lives. 


161 


Paris three weeks, and visited every- 
thing of interest. 

They had just returned from Fon- 
tainebleau, where they had been 
spending the day. Janet was tired 
so she went at once to her room. 
Malcolm said he had an errand, and 
would join her in a little while. He 
had heard her admire a diamond neck- 
lace in one of the windows, as they 
passed in the morning. Thinking 
this a good chance to get it for her, 
and sure she would protest if she 
knew, he left her to rest before dinner, 
and went for the jewels. 

It alw T ays gave him the greatest 
pleasure to get for her anything she 
desired, and knowing this, Janet 
seldom admired anything openly, 
fearing that he would bankrupt him- 
self to please her. But this necklace 
had once adorned the slender throat 
of a queen, and Janet’s cry of admir- 
ation was involuntary. 

Malcolm returned in time for dinner 
and suggested that they hear Sigma 
once more before leaving Paris. 

When Janet stood before him, beau- 


162 


As a Man Lives. 


tiful in a gown of fawn-colored satin 
and soft chiffon, he clasped the neck- 
lace about her white throat, and 
fastened a diamond butterfly among 
the puffs of her brown hair. 

The house was crowded when they 
entered and immediately many glasses 
were directed to their box, for there 
was no lady in the house so beautiful 
as the English woman in the lovely 
costume of brown with the magnifi- 
cent diamonds flashing on her breast 
and in her hair. 

Sigma excelled himself. He was 
recalled three times, and the people 
were still wildly shouting his name. 

He came again, and commenced to 
sing a simple song, dear to Americans, 
“Way down upon the Suannee river. ” 
His face was flushed with joyous 
excitement, and the house listened, 
breathless. Suddenly he faltered, 
swayed and fell into the arms of his 
aunt, who rushed forward to catch 
him while the curtain was quickly 
dropped. 

“Let us goto her,” said Janet 


As a Man Lives. 


163 


rising. “Will they let us, Malcolm, 
do you think?” 

“Follow me,” he said. “I can 
manage it.” 

After some difficulty they reached 
the room where Reggie lay. Miss 
Wise was holding Reggie and trying 
to quiet him. He was dreadfully 
excited and the blood was still flow- 
ing from his nose and mouth. Miss 
Wise feared he would strangle. “Will 
a doctor never come,” she cried, “to 
stop this bleeding before it is too late ?” 

Malcolm flew for a doctor, and soon 
brought him in his carriage., but not 
before the boy had fainted from loss 
of blood. 

Soon Sigma was carried on a mat- 
tress to his hotel. Janet went with 
him and his aunt. She could not 
comfort her, who declared it was all 
her fault. 

“ I ought not to have allowed him 
to go back the fourth time, but he 
begged so hard that at last I permitted 
him, and now I shall lose my darling. ’ ’ 

Reggie lay half unconscious and 
too weak to move. After a while he 


164 


As a Man Lives. 


said, opening his big solemn eyes, 

“I wish the organ was not so loud 
— please ask them to play softer, 
Auntie! The lovely music! Do 
you hear it? Auntie, did I sing so 
well, or did they only applaud me 
because they were sorry for me?” 

He rambled on all night, sometimes 
talking sense, but always returning 
to the music? 

Janet returned to her hotel in the 
morning and tried to get a few hours’ 
rest. 

“We must not leave tomorrow,” 
she said. “I could not let Miss Wise 
remain here alone. You will stay 
here with me a little while longer, 
Malcolm, will you not?” 

“Certainly, dear, ” he replied. “I 
will send a telegram at once, explain- 
ing the reason of our delay.” 

Reggie never rose from his bed. 
He lay there listening to the noises 
in the street, very quietly, watching 
everything and everybody about him 
with observing eyes. 

When the sun had set and evening 
came on, he loved to watch the bright 


As a Man Lives .* 


165 


lights in the street. The strange 
fancy about the organ never left him. 
Sometimes it was so loud that he 
wanted it stopped, sometimes it was 
soft and sweet, and he called others 
to listen. 

Sometimes he would rise in bed, 
put out his little hands and try to 
stop the music; then his aunt would 
bend over him and stroke his hair. 
Very soon he would becalm, and say, 

“Auntie, you always make the 
organ play softly.” 

Then he would he quiet for a time 
and beg his aunt to lay her head on 
his pillow and rest. 

“ You must he so tired of the music, 
Auntie, and you cannot hear me sing ; 
it drowns my voice.” 

The people around him changed 
and at times he could not recognize 
them. 

The doctors held a consultation 
over him, but he never asked what 
they said, although he watched their 
every movement with his large, 
bright eyes. 

He knew Janet and said to her, 


166 


As a Man Lives. 


“ Don’t be sorry for me, Janet; I 
am very, very happy. But how the 
music swells! Sometimes it seems 
like six organs playing all at once, 
and sometimes only one, a long dis- 
tance off — Auntie, did I ever see my 
mother?” 

“No, darling, you never did.” 

“ I think she is listening to the 
music. Sometimes I see her. I 
think it must be my mother, for she 
looks at me so lovingly. She does 
not seem to mind when it plays 
ever so loudly and she must hear it, 
for she is quite near.” 

Toward the last he never com- 
plained of the music being loud; it 
was always soft. 

“So soft you can hardly hear it, 
Auntie,” he would say. “Listen, 
there are voices ! What are they 
singing? May I join them, Auntie? 
It is divine ! How dark it is getting ! 
I can’t see; lean only hear, and it 
is so beautiful. Auntie, now I can 
see ! Such a beautiful place ! Let us 
go together!” 

Miss Wise did not realize that he 


As a Man Lives . 


167 


was gone, but lay on his pillow 
stroking his hair for some time. At 
last she said, “ Reggie, can you hear 
the music still?” 

He did not answer and she took 
his hand. It felt cold and all at 
once the truth flashed through her 
mind. She looked at Janet, then 
said earnestly, “He has joined the 
choir invisible, and I am left alone.” 

Janet drew her gently from the 
room. 

After the funeral Miss Wise was 
persuaded to go to England with 
Janet and remain with her until they 
all went to California together in 
the spring. Lord Hamilton was 
compelled to go about some business 
connected with the mine. 

The St. Johns were all at Wake- 
field Park to welcome them, and 
Belle once again had a piece of 
important news to whisper. She was 
engaged to Neal Duncan, Malcolm’s 
brother, who was a clergyman, 
curate for Mr. St. John. 

It was a very happy party that 
assembled at dinner, the first eve- 


168 


As a Man Lives. 


ning after their return home. Even 
Miss Wise could not be sad. In 
speaking of Reggie to Mr. St. John 
she said, “ I am so glad he had 
these two years of happiness to 
brighten his life, and I am quite 
sure it did not hasten his death in 
the least. He used to he always 
grieving over his helpless, useless 
life.” 

“Where is the gentleman who 
discovered his voice and sent him to 
Europe?” asked Mrs. St. John. 

“He was very ill the last time I 
heard from him. He never left San 
Francisco. Reggie insisted on pay- 
ing hack all the money that had been 
spent on him, and I believe the old 
gentleman was glad of it, for there 
were kin of his who came to need it, 
and I learn that he has left his for- 
tune to them. Dear Reggie ! His 
last hours were peaceful, filled with 
harmonies unheard by us, and I 
believe that he saw his mother before 
he died.” 


CHAPTER XI Y. 


On the first of April the City of 
Paris sailed majestically out to sea, 
bearing our three friends. They had 
a stormy passage, but did not mind 
it in the least, being all good sailors. 
In fact Janet declared that her spir- 
its always rose with a storm at sea. 

The journey across the continent 
was quite uneventful, as it generally 
is to those to whom it is not new. 
They reached San Francisco at ten 
P. M., only ten and a half d>iys 
after leaving Liverpool. 

Gladys was the first to welcome 
them back to California. She had 
decorated their rooms with such an 
abundance of flowers as only Cali- 
fornia can produce in the early 
spring. 

“And how is the ‘ Home ’ pro- 
gressing, Gladys?” asked Janet. 

“It is at a standstill,” said Gladys. 
“Part of it is self-supporting, and 
of course that goes on, but we can 


170 


As a Man Lives. 


not keep up the other part much 
longer for want of funds. You have 
not heard of papa’s losses, have 
you? There has been great depres- 
sion in business the last few years 
and papa was one of the unfortunate 
ones. He lost almost everything. 
He was able to pay his creditors in 
full, but there is very little left. He 
has taken a position and I earn my 
own living and help support the 
house.” 

“Dear Gladys,” said Janet, “I 
am so sorry to hear this. How long 
since it happened?” 

“I have been earning my living 
for three months now, ” said Gladys, 
laughing, “and it is not half so hard 
as it sounds.” 

“I found it hard enough,” said 
Janet with a shudder. “Tell me 
what you are doing, Gladys?” 

“Well, I decorate houses and 
tables for parties and I have nearly 
a dozen houses where I go every other 
morning to arrange the flowers and 
dust the bric-a-brac. Then I have 
other houses where I go to mend the 


As a Man Lives. 


171 


linen when it comes from the laun- 
dry, and others where I take care of 
the children in the morning while 
the nurse is occupied, and altogether 
I make quite a little eum.” 

4 ‘Indeed I am sure everyone is glad 
of your bright face in the house. 
I don’t wonder that you found it 
easy to get employment, dear, but 
I am sorry that you need to do it.” 

“Don’t be sorry for me, dear. 
I am quite happy, or should be if 
mama did not worry over our losses 
so much.” 

Later in the day Miss Wise said, 
“ I have decided what to do with my 
life and Reggie’s money. I shall 
give both to the ‘ Helping Hand ’ 
and return the money Mr. Farnam 
put into it. Perhaps it will be 
enough to start him in business again, 
and you know, after all, the Home 
is mine for I started it.” 

When Mr. Farnam was told of her 
plan, he declared he would not touch 
a cent of her money; but she was 
just as firm, insisting that she had 
more than enough for the require- 


172 


As a Man Lives. 


merits of the Home at its present 
size. At last Mr. Farnam compro- 
mised, and took the money for a 
time until he should be able to 
replace it, und then it was proposed, 
with the help of Lord Hamilton and 
Janet, to enlarge the Home until it 
should be something like the “Peo- 
ples’ Palace ” in London. 

Mr. Farnam said he had discovered 
one thing through the loss of his 
fortune ; namely, that it was possi- 
ble to be happy and be poor. 

“I do not sympathize with the 
poor half so much as I did. And I 
will take back another statement I 
made. Poverty is not the greatest 
curse on earth. Health, I think, is 
the greatest blessing, and I am not 
sure that the loss of it is not the 
greatest curse.” 

“If we were all blessed with your 
disposition or your daughter’s, we 
might see it as you do. But I know 
I am happier now than when I was 
a poor young man, glad to get a posi- 
tion as superintendent of the Chico 
mines,” said Lord Hamilton. 


As a Man Lives. 


173 


4 4 Yes,” said Janet. “And I know 
how terribly unhappy I was when I 
was glad to get a place as nurse- 
maid, and how happy I am now.” 

“Ah,” laughed Gladys, “it isn’t 
money that makes you two so happy. 
It is because you have each other.” 

After spending a week in San 
Francisco and seeing Miss Wise 
installed as president of the “Home,” 
Malcolm said he must go to Chico, 
and asked Janet if she cared to 
accompany him. 

44 Of course I do,” said she. “I 
should like to see the old place again, 
in spite of everything. And I would 
not miss seeing Mr. Henshaw, for he 
was very kind to me.” 

“By the way,” said Gladys, 
‘ 4 have you heard about Stella? She 
left Mr. Curson before she had been 
married to him a year, but not before 
he had gambled away nearly all her 
fortune. She has gone to Spain to 
her aunt. She is broken in health, 
spirits and fortune. I really feel 
sorry for her.” 

“Well” said Janet, “she nearly 


174 


As a Man Lives J 


ruined our dear Belle’s life. Perhaps 
she has got only what she deserves.” 

Mrs. Henshaw was so very obse- 
quious and deferential that Janet 
disliked her almost more in this new 
role than in the days when she 
received nothing from her hut un- 
kindness. Mr. Henshaw was the 
same kind soul he had always been, 
and the girls were not much changed. 
They visited the canon again where 
they had first met and the red- woods 
where they saw the bear. 

When they returned to San Fran- 
cisco on their way home they found 
that Gladys was not w T ell, so Janet eas- 
ily persuaded Mr. Farnam to let her 
go to England with them for a visit. 

A few months after their return to 
Wakefield Park, Lord and Lady 
Hamilton were made completely 
happy by the birth of an heir. Lord 
Temple was its godfather and Gladys 
the godmother. There was every 
indication that Lord Temple hoped to 
console himself for the “cruelty” of 
Janet, by the possession of her bright 
little friend from America. He was 


As a Man Lives. 


175 


not at all dismayed by the knowledge 
that Gladys had no money, as he had 
plenty for both, and this argument, 
much briefer than the discourses of 
Mr. Farnam on finance, was not 
refuted by that kind and good man. 






















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JUL 37 1898 











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